The Aquilegia flowers and leaves of columbines have a dainty, airy quality. Several 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. Aquilegia Flowers most bloom in mid 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 wildflowers.
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 foot 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” strains 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 hybrids Zone Five.
How to Grow Aquilegia Flowers?
Columbines or Aquilegia Flowers 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.
