COLUMBINE: How to Grow this Pretty Spring Flower
If your garden experiences a bit of a lull between spring bulbs and flowering perennials, think about adding some Columbineor Aquilegia.
Private garden, Aurora, Ontario
As the sway in the breeze, the delicate bells always make me think of ballet dancers or garden fairies.
Private Garden, Brampton, Ontario
Though they are short lived perennials, Columbine are easily started from seed. They also readily self-seed in any garden.
Columbine in a private garden in Nova Scotia
Columbine are quite happy in average garden soil, but require good drainage to prevent crown rot.
Full sun to part shade is best. Too much shade and Columbine will fail to prosper.
The Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton, ON
Columbine work best when placed near the front of any border. When not in flower Columbine makes a nice fairly neat mound of delicate, fern-like green foliage. In bloom, the stems that carry the flowers soar to a height of about 15-25 inches , but they are light and see-through.
If you want your Columbine to self-seed, don't deadhead the plant when the flowers start to fade. Allow the green finger-like seed pods to mature and dry. Collect the seed to sow where you like or just let nature do its thing.
Private garden, Mississauga, Ontario
These are native Columbine Aquilegia canadensis. Native Columbine has nodding orange-red and yellow flowers with distinctive upward spurs. These spurs contain nectar that attract long-tongued insects and hummingbirds.
'Songbird' Columbine
Hybrid Columbine come in a number of flower forms and an array of colors. These white Columbine are part of the 'Songbird' series of hybrids.
The 'Nora Balow' series of hybrids have fully double spurless flowers and come in white, pink, purple, black and several bi-colors.
These are purple colored 'Nora Balow' Columbine growing in my garden.
One pest is leaf miners who leave twisty pale green lines on Columbine foliage. To discourage leaf miners, cut back the crown and feed your plant a half-strength balanced fertilizer such as 20-20-20. Fresh foliage will appear in about 14 days.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 3 comments
-
Thanks Douglas! They are a favourite of mine at this time of year.
-
Can never have enough Columbine!
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?