An Easy-To-Grow Perennial Favourite

By Jos Van Hage

Columbines (Aquilegia) are beautiful, hardy, perennials that grow very well in our Prince George area.

This old-fashioned perennial are easily identified by their funnel shaped flower which consists of 5 petals and each petal has a distinct spur. The flowers come in a wide range of colors and are often bi-colored with the petals being one color and the spurs being another color. All columbine varieties attract hummingbirds.

Flowers rise on long stems above the tripartite green leaves which are similar to those of the maidenhair fern. Both foliage and flowers can be cut to make beautiful floral arrangements.

Columbines can be started from seed which are started 8-10 weeks before the last frost indoors. Read the planting instructions first before sowing the seed. For example, there is a new variety for McKenzie seeds called "Lime Sorbet" which requires that the seed be chilled first for 3-5 days at 4-5 Celsius before sowing.  After sowing you will need to have patience because it takes 30-50 days for germination. It is well worth the wait because the flowers are different from many other columbines as they are double, spurless, and lime-green in color.

Another variety from McKenzie is "Pink Tower" and these are equally beautiful and require the same growing instructions. If you do not want to start your plants from seed you can also purchase plants in the spring/summer that are planted outside anytime from mid-May to late September.

Columbine is a short lived perennial; however, they re-seed quite easily. To get them to re-seed do not cut off the
finished flower. Leave the flower and allow it to form and mature the seed inside. Once the seed is matured the pod will open and the seeds will fall out and a few will germinate. The nice thing about a columbine is that it is non-invasive, as only a few seeds germinate unlike a "Jacobs Ladder" which allows hundreds of seeds to germinate thus making it hard to control.

Columbine hybridize quite easily so if you have a few different varieties near each other or hybrids you will create new plants that will produce new colors.

This is an easy to grow perennial that do not require a lot of work. They  grow best in full sun to partial shade, in a rich, moist, well-drained soil.  Plant them in a rock garden, perennial garden, or a wild flower garden.

Sometimes they can be bothered by leaf miner, and if this happens you need  to remove the infected foliage as soon as you see the problem. In the fall, remove the remaining foliage and stems and throw them out which should help control the problem for next season.

There are many different varieties available in the seed displays. Thompson & Morgan has "Caerulea" which has large 2-3 inch blue flowers of varying shades. Another variety that caught my eye was the "Magpie" because of its very dark bonnet and the white outside edges. If you are looking for a short, border plant the "Danish Dwarf" grows 10-12 inches tall and has red
and white spurred flowers. Mr. Fothergill's carries the popular "McKana Giants", and "Biedemeir". They also have the "Tower Lights Blue" which have double blue flowers.

If you want to plant columbine in your landscape this season, start the seeds now or you can wait till mid-May when the perennial plants come available.

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