Digitalis x valinii Firebird is an excellent new perennial foxglove variety that is being launched at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show 2019.
Bred in the UK by plantsman John Fielding, Firebird is an improvement on previous varieties. It is more winter hardy and generally a stronger garden plant.
Firebird has handsome, dark glossy green leaves. It produces branching stems, each topped by a long, tapering spike of tubular flowers. The flowers are a reddish-pink colour on the outside, with lovely apricot colouring on the inside. Firebird produces flowers from the end of May and continues throughout the summer – as each stem develops, new stems branch out from the base.
The launch at Chelsea is being supported by Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants of Freefolk, Hampshire – you will find Firebird as part of their display in the Great Pavilion.