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Camelot foxgloves – a Louisiana Super Plants selection
For Release On Or After 11/05/10
By Dan Gill
LSU AgCenter Horticulturist
This fall the LSU AgCenter announced a new plant marketing and promotion program called Louisiana Super Plants. The purpose of the program is to identify superior plants for Louisiana landscapes, make sure wholesale growers are growing and retail nurseries are carrying the selections and get the word out to the gardening public about these outstanding plants.
Three plants have been selected for fall 2010 – Amazon series dianthus, ShiShi Gashira camellia and Camelot series foxglove.
The Amazon series dianthus comes in three beautiful colors – Amazon Neon Purple, Amazon Neon Cherry and Amazon Rose Magic.
ShiShi Gashira camellia is an outstanding, low-growing, evergreen shrub that produces rosy pink flowers from October to early January.
To see photos and read about these beautiful and reliable plants, check out the Louisiana Super Plants website at www.lsuagcenter.com/superplants. You will also find a list of nurseries in the state that are carrying Louisiana Super Plants.
Camelot foxgloves
The third Louisiana Super Plants selection is the Camelot series foxglove. This new foxglove earned its Super Plants title because it is a significant improvement over varieties planted in the past.
Foxgloves (Digitalis species and hybrids) are biannuals or short-lived perennials. Here in the Deep South, however, we grow them as cool-season annuals. That is, we grow them during the cool season, which runs from October-November to April-May. They bloom in spring or early summer and then typically die in the summer heat. Because Camelot foxgloves bloom their first year from seed, they are excellent for use in our climate.
The Camelot series foxgloves come in four colors – Camelot Rose, Camelot Lavender, Camelot Cream and Camelot White. This hybrid series is bred to be especially strong and vigorous growing. And these foxgloves are somewhat more heat-tolerant than the foxgloves used in the past, allowing Camelot foxgloves to bloom well into late May or early June.
Especially notable is an improvement in the flower spikes. The flowers are larger and the spikes taller than older varieties. The bell-shaped flowers of foxgloves are arranged around a strong, tall stem that grows from the center of the plant. Typically, the flowers tend to hang down and you cannot see into the beautifully spotted throats. The flowers of Camelot foxgloves, however, are held more horizontally, which creates a fuller-looking flower spike and reveals the spotted interior of the flowers. This is a tremendous improvement in the ornamental qualities of this foxglove and a big reason they were made a Louisiana Super Plants selection.
Growing Camelot foxgloves
Louisiana gardeners are accustomed to – and even demand – that bedding plants be in bloom when they are purchased. Some cool-season bedding plants, however, will provide far superior results if they are purchased when young and before the colorful display begins. Good examples are ornamental cabbage and kale, delphiniums and hollyhocks. Young, not-yet-blooming transplants of these plants are best planted in fall or late winter – from November to February – for blooming in April, May and early June. Foxgloves also belong to this group.
So when you head out to your local nurseries to purchase Camelot foxglove plants this fall, they will not be in bloom and will not bloom until next spring. But trust me – the wait is worth it.
During winter, these plants are perfectly hardy to whatever cold may occur, and there is no need to cover and protect them. During mild winter weather, the plants will grow strong root systems and rosettes of large, slightly fuzzy leaves that are a beautiful addition to the winter flowerbed. For best results, get plants in the ground no later than the end of February to give them time to grow into large, vigorous plants before they bloom. A fall or late-winter planting will produce the most spectacular plants with the tallest and largest number of spikes.
Most cool-season bedding plants prefer full sun, and Camelot foxgloves will grow in sunny locations. But, they also do very well in beds that receive only four to six hours of sun a day. The foliage is typically darker green and larger in partly shaded spots.
Place these plants into well-prepared beds that have been generously amended with compost or other decayed organic matter and a light application of general-purpose fertilizer. Good drainage is important. Put the plants to the back of the beds where the colorful 3- to 4-foot-tall flower spikes will form a dramatic background. These robust-growing plants should be spaced about 12 inches apart.
After the main spike finishes blooming, cut it back, and the plants will send up numerous side shoots, continuing the floral display for additional weeks. Eventually, with the hot weather of early summer, the plants will begin to play out and can be removed, composted and replaced with summer bedding plants.
Look for Camelot foxgloves in your local nurseries now, and get them planted this fall for best results. You should see them displayed with the Louisiana Super Plants logo and signs with color photos and growing information. You will not be disappointed.
Rick Bogren
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| Last Updated: 1/3/2011 1:31:38 PM |
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