The Main Plant entry for Columbines (Aquilegia)

These are one of my all time favorite perennials. They often self sow and cross, so I have a large variety of colors and sizes. Seed can be winter sown and needs light to germinate. Transplanting should be done when plants are small for much better success rate. Large plants have deep tap roots. They are short lived, so best to allow some seedlings to mature to give a good show in the garden.

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Columbines are my favorite early spring flower, but are short lived for me. I might get two good seasons from a plant, then they lose vigor and either come back very small with few flowers, or reseed themselves as 'granny bonnets' - plain-jane short spurred light purple. My solution is to simply add several healthy new plants every year and enjoy the rotating show.

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Taken from wikipedia's page at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A...

"Columbine is a hardy perennial, which propagates by seed. It will grow to a height of 15 to 20 inches. It will grow in full sun; however, it prefers growing in partial shade and well drained soil, and is able to tolerate average soils and dry soil conditions. Columbine is rated at hardiness zone 3 in the USA so does not require mulching or protection in the winter.

Large numbers of hybrids are available for the garden, since the British A. vulgaris was joined by other European and North American varieties. Aquilegia species are very interfertile, and will self-sow. Some varieties are short-lived so are better treated as biennials.

They are used as food plants by some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) caterpillars. These are mainly of noctuid moths – noted for feeding on many poisonous plants without harm – such as Cabbage Moth (Mamestra brassicae), Dot Moth (Melanchra persicariae) and Mouse Moth (Amphipyra tragopoginis). The Engrailed (Ectropis crepuscularia), a geometer moth, also uses columbine as a larval foodplant."

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These are graceful plants with attractive ferny foliage and yellow, blue, red, white or bicolored flowers. Long narrow spurs extend backward from the flower.
For best results (if planting more than one of these plants), space each one at least 1 and a half feet apart from each other.
Landscape uses:
American columbine and fan columbine are appealing plants for a rock garden r the front of a flower border. Use the taller forms in the middle of a border, where they will bloom for several weeks. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Columbines have abundant nectar and attract hummingbirds.

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Columbines remind me of spring meadows. Fortunately, we can have these meadow flowers in our gardens. Often the individual plants don't last long, dying out after a few years. Usually seedlings have popped up to replace the missing plants.

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