DESCRIPTION: Unique, upward facing flowers of violet-rose with white interiors and dark purple spots; tall spikes rise above attractive green oblong shaped leaves; a biennial that's happiest in part shade with adequate moisture.

BOTANICAL NAME: Digitalis purpurea 'Candy Mountain Rose'
AVERAGE MATURE HEIGHT: 90-120 cm
AVERAGE MATURE SPREAD: 45 cm
SUN EXPOSURE: Full sun to partial shade
FLOWER COLOUR: Rosy pink to mauve, freckled dark purple
FLOWERING TIME: Late spring into early summer
FOLIAGE COLOUR: Deep green
COLD HARDINESS: Zone 4 (Should survive up to -34.4° Celsius)
WATER NEEDS: Average
OTHER FEATURES: Attracts Birds, Bee Friendly, Border, Cut Flowers, Deer Resistant, Rabbit Resistant

Ornamental Features

Candy Mountain Foxglove features bold spikes of violet tubular flowers with white overtones and deep purple spots rising above the foliage from late spring to mid-summer, which emerge from distinctive rose flower buds. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its oval leaves remain green in colour throughout the season. 

Landscape Attributes

Candy Mountain Foxglove is an herbaceous perennial with a rigidly upright and towering form. Its medium texture blends into the garden but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting hummingbirds to your yard but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration:

• Self-Seeding

Candy Mountain Foxglove is recommended for the following landscape applications:

• Vertical Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Candy Mountain Foxglove will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity extending to 4 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 18 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 14 inches apart. It tends to be leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground and should be underplanted with lower-growing perennials. It grows at a fast rate, and tends to be biennial, meaning that it puts on vegetative growth the first year, flowers the second, and then dies. However, this species tends to self-seed and will thereby endure for years in the garden if allowed.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Parts of the plant are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets.

Candy Mountain Foxglove is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception.