• Image of Digitalis obscurataken at Juniper Level Botanic Gdn, NC by JLBG
  • Image of Digitalis obscurataken at Juniper Level Botanic Gdn, NC by JLBG
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Digitalis obscura

Willow Leaved Iberian Foxglove

This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.

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Item #: 2383

Zones: 4b to 8b

Dormancy: Evergreen

Height: 20" tall

Culture: Sun

Origin: Portugal, Spain

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)


To borrow the famed Monty Python line, "And now for something completely different." Willow leaf foxglove is a shrubby/woody species from the Iberian peninsula (Spain/Portugal) which looks exactly like a penstemon. Digitalis obscura had me completely fooled when I first saw it back in the early 2000s, growing in rock gardens throughout Denver, Colorado. The narrow, linear evergreen leaves, which turn purple in winter) clothe the upright woody stalks which have penstemon written all over them...in permanent ink. Starting for us in late April, the 20" tall x 20" wide clumps are topped with stalks of rusty-orange penstemon-like flowers that are just begging to be photographed. After killing these throughout the garden, we have finally succeeded in our insanely well-drained crevice garden. Exceptional drainage is required to have any success with Digitalis obscura in humid, rainy summer climates.