The flowers and leaves of
columbines have a dainty, airy quality. Several of flowers have long spurs, and
they come in every color, including bicolor in which the inner row of petals is
one color, the outer petals (sepals) and the spurs another. Heights also vary.
Most bloom in mind to late spring. Aquilegia Canadensis “Common Columbine” is
yellow and red and grows one or two feet. A caerulea (Colorado or Rocky
Mountain columbine) is blue and white and grows up to three feet tall. Both are
Native American wild flowers. A chrysantha is yellow, two to three feet. A
vulgaris is shades of blue and rose and grows up to three feet. A flabel lata
(Japanese fan columbine) is as short as six inches although sometimes as tall
as 1 ½ feet with bluish leaves; available varieties are usually white or blue
and white. In addition there’re many hybrids; “McKana” and “Dragon Fly” hybrids
in mixed shades are medium height; “Biedermeier” strain are mixed and shorter. “Snow
Queen” is white; “Crimson Star” is red; “Maxi Star” is yellow. In general the
species are Zone four, while the bybrids Zone Five.
How to Grow Columbine or
Aquilegia
Columbines normally do well in
either full sun or part shade. They only transplant well when small, and are
sometimes short lived, but have a strong tendency to self-sow, and volunteer
seedlings can be moved to the desired location. All need well drained soil.
Leaf miners, which make white tunnels in the leaves, do considerable harm in
some gardens, but when the tunnels are merely unsightly they’re best ignored.
