A Spring Flower for your Garden: Columbine (Aquilegia)

Spring has many woodland bloomers: bluebells, dutchman’s breeches, bloodroot, yellow trout lily, trilliums, and columbine to name a few. Of these, columbine (Aquilegia spp.) can adapt to live successfully in your own garden. Columbine plants are low growing perennials noted for downward faced flowers with long, thin spurs that reflex back. These shade tolerant plants are often found in moist, woody areas.

In the mid-Atlantic region we either see the native species, Eastern red columbine, or cultivars of the common columbine. Eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) has red and yellow flowers with spurs. This native is a critical food source for the ruby-throated hummingbird in the spring. The Virginia Native Plant Society dubbed it wildflower of the year for 1998. There are other columbines native to this continent but not to our mid-Atlantic region.

The native species blooming at Oak Spring Garden

The common columbine (A. vulgaris) has been bred to produce flowers that are single or double petaled, in shades of purple, blue, dark rose, rose, pink, white and even very dark purple to black.

Both are easy to grow from seed as long as you provide stratification–that period of cold to induce germination. If you are purchasing seed, you can provide stratification in one of four ways:

• Place the seeds in a plastic bag with moist seed starting mix. Place the bag in the fridge for 3-4 weeks. Afterwards, you can start the seeds indoors under lights about 8 weeks before the average last frost or sow directly outside after the last average frost.
• Sow the seeds in small plastic containers with moist seed starting mix and either put in the fridge, an uncovered cold frame, an unheated porch, or a shed where the temperature remains consistently between 35 to 45 degrees. When the average last frost date has passed, continue to grow outside.
• Scatter seeds in your garden in the fall and let winter provide the cold stratification.
• Sow a few seeds in a plastic gallon milk jug with about 3 to 4 inches of soil in December and leave outside, uncovered, until spring. In the spring, open the jug and transplant the seedlings into the garden. This method is called winter sowing.

Once your plants are established, they will self-sow. In fact, columbines are notorious for cross pollinating so if you want one particular color, grow only that plant. Do not mix up your seed. Mine have been in my garden for almost 20 years and are a mix of purples and blues. I know I have sowed several different types over the years, but these colors must be the hardiest.

Columbine blooming at the National Arboretum

Columbine plants are deer resistant, and the flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and hawk moths. After the spring, the foliage will remain which does tend to get leaf miners but this will not kill them. Leaf miner damage just goes with the territory, there is not much you can do other than snip off the damaged foliage. The unsightly silver “doodles” on the leaves is caused by leaf miner larvae tunnelling their way through the middle of the leaves. The Eastern red columbine is supposed to be more resistant to leaf miner than the hybrids. In the winter, these plants die down and become dormant. Foliage emerges as early as February.

In our area, we have plenty of spring native plant sales so you may find small plants of the Eastern red columbine. If not, check out these seed companies for both the native species and the hybrids.

Close up of the center of the flower