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Plant Showcase

Aquilegia – Keep me cool and I’ll keep blooming

Pansies, peas, pinks – these plants in the “p” group, producing as long as the weather is cool, are mainstays of the garden in my climate. Summers here are short, and some years there is no hot weather at all. Usually the heat of summer lasts only a few weeks. A long, hot summer is a rarity. I have recently been forced to step outside the “p’s”, adding aquilegia to the list. This plant, commonly called columbine, produces beautiful, delicate flowers in late spring and early summer in most climates. If deadheaded, it will bloom as long as weather conditions are right.

Aquilegia is now classified in the Helleboraceae (Hellebore) family. It was formerly considered Ranunculaceae. The name aquilegia comes from the word aquile, meaning eagle, reflecting the resemblance between the spurs on the blossoms and the talons of that great bird.

There are several varieties of wild columbine which are commonly grown in gardens, including Aquilegia vulgaris, A. coerulea (Colorado columbine), A. bertolini, (a wild European plant), and A. flabellata (a Japanese variety). There are also many hybrid varieties, including doubles so ruffled they would not be recognizable as columbines if it were not for the leaves.

Plants range in size from tiny alpine varieties, 5” to 6” tall, and suitable for the rock garden, to blooms that nod at the top of 4 to 5-foot stalks. Blossom shapes can be reminiscent of anything from clematis to dahlias, from complex origami designs to the ruffled ball gowns sported by ladies in the days of hoop skirts. Colors are almost unlimited, from pastels to deep, vibrant shades. The most common colors are in the blue, purple, white, pink and pastel yellow ranges, but there are shades of deep vermilion and red as well. The McKenna hybrids, among others, are often bicolored, offering an interesting contrast between light and dark shades.

The foliage has a lacy effect and colors up a little in late summer. I have had some problems with mildew, which does not affect the plant much, but makes the leaves unattractive. I simply cut the leaves off and fresh, green ones replace them. Leaf miners and sawfly are said to be potential problems for foliage also, but do not threaten an otherwise healthy plant. Again, one needs merely to cut back and destroy any damaged foliage.

Requirements: Columbines are very hardy perennials, generally flourishing even in USDA Zone 3. They do not like full sun during hot weather, though they will survive if given enough water. There is a great deal of contradiction in instructions for growing columbines. They are said to grow well in wet areas, and said to require good drainage. They are even recommended as water-conserving plants. Alpine varieties may need somewhat better drainage than others but I have had success in growing all kinds in places that are not all that well drained. I have seen them grow and bloom well in rich soil and in poor soil. They also bloom in areas where there is very little sun, but bloom well with 8 hours or more of sunlight as long as they are kept moist and the temperature is not too high. The alpine varieties do not need as much water as the others.

For continuous bloom (in cool weather), the flowers must be removed as soon as they are past their prime. Cut off the blossom stalks at the base as soon as there are no more blooms. If you allow the plants to develop seed before cutting off the stalks, they may rebloom briefly before winter, but it takes a month or so for them to recover.

Plants are easily started from seed. They are said to be promiscuous, but most of my plants were started from seed collected by friends. Those that were labeled have proved very similar to the parent plant. The bed on the north side of the house was seeded in October of 2002, and produced spectacular bloom in late spring of 2004.

One caveat about starting seeds in pots: I hear many complaints from friends about tall blossom stalks falling over, and the need to stake them. The only columbines I have ever needed to stake were those that were sizable plants when dug in. Mature columbines have an enormous taproot which holds them upright. If this taproot is stunted in the pot, or damaged when planting, you may have problems later on.

For more information about different varieties of columbines, check out the types available at:
http://www.perennialresource.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.main
and
http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/us/en/list/full-index/a/8

Written by Valia

My Photos are available at:
http://www.valia.gardenbuddies.com/gallery/are-these-really-columbines

Rebloom in August:
http://www.valia.gardenbuddies.com/gallery/albums/August-2004/columbine_hoverfly.jpg
http://www.valia.gardenbuddies.com/gallery/albums/August-2004/columbine_salsify_seed.jpg

Last blossom in October:
http://www.valia.gardenbuddies.com/gallery/albums/October-2004/last_columbine.jpg 404 Page Not Found