Digitalis lanata Café Crème - Foxglove

Digitalis lanata 'Café Crème', a beautiful descendant of the woolly foxglove, is a spectacular plant in appearance, but with a paradoxically discreet and subtle flowering, which should be highlighted in the garden. This biennial to perennial plant is fabulous when it displays its stout spikes in summer, where tightly packed globular flowers of pearl grey, coffee, and purple are found. Less demanding in terms of soil and moisture than the purple foxglove found in our woodlands, it will thrive in ordinary soil, including limestone and occasionally dry soil. It will flourish in sunny or partially shaded borders and flowerbeds.

Digitali  Café Crème is a cultivar derived from Digitalis lanata, a plant from the Plantaginaceae family native to Italy, Hungary, Turkey, and the Balkans. It has naturalised in various regions of North America and Europe. English speakers refer to this plant, widespread in the mountains of Greece, as the 'Grecian foxglove'. It can be found in shrubland, forests, grassy areas, mostly in sunny to partially shaded locations. 'Café Crème' has been awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S) in England for its ornamental qualities and performance in the garden.

It is a short-lived biennial to perennial herbaceous plant that develops a large persistent rosette with a diameter of 30-40 cm (12-16in) from spring onwards. It has entire, hairy, lanceolate leaves with prominent veins, and dark green colour. In the second year, from June to August, tall, sturdy flower spikes rise, almost blackish-purple and woolly in appearance, reaching a height of 60 to 80 cm (24 to 32in). They have small leaves on their lower third and bear numerous tightly packed flowers on their upper part. Each flower consists of a reddish and hairy calyx, releasing a swollen and undulate tubular corolla with a clear lip, veined in pearl grey and purple. The throat of the flower is yellowish, veined in purple, and the exterior is shaded in coffee, bronze, and mauve. They bloom from bottom to top for 2 to 3 weeks. Each flower attracts a ballet of bees and bumblebees, tirelessly collecting nectar and pollen. After pollination, capsules (fruits) containing numerous seeds form and self-sow in light soil in the garden. This foxglove will be more perennial if the flowers are pruned before seed formation.

Plant the Café Crème woolly foxglove in full sun or partial shade, in ordinary soil that is not too dry, even limestone soil. It pairs well with pastel roses, acanthus, and small blue-flowered perennials such as perennial geraniums or blue flax. This variety, with its delicate but unusual coloration, will be enhanced by silver foliage (such as cineraria maritima, shrubby artemisias) or purple foliage like those of Loropetalum or Physocarpus. This romantic and magnificent plant will also accompany heucheras in clear woodland areas and the feathery foliage of ferns. Take advantage of these flowers in your home by creating sumptuous bouquets.

The woolly foxglove is rich in active principles used to treat heart rhythm disorders and is also cultivated for medicinal purposes. The alkaloids it contains are toxic if ingested, but not by contact. As a precautionary measure, hands should be washed after handling this plant, and it should be kept away from young children.