Aquilegia vulgaris
columbine
Charming bonnet-like flowers with hooked spurs, nod gracefully from the branching, upright stems in late spring and early summer. The lush green foliage is ferny and forms pretty mounds that add a light texture to the planting scheme. These charming columbines are easy to grow and are useful for herbaceous borders and cottage gardens as well as more naturalised planting schemes including prairies. They will usually self-seed freely, but they are quite promiscuous plants that hybridise freely. Therefore if there are other aquilegias in your garden, it is possible that the next generation of plants will vary from their parent plants.
How to care for Aquilegia vulgaris:
Lift and divide large clumps in early spring and apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted manure or garden compost around the plant. Divided specimens may take some time to establish since they don't like having their roots disturbed. Deadhead to prolong flowering.
Sowing instructions:
In autumn, surface-sow on moist compost in small pots or seed trays and keep them in a greenhouse or cold frame at 15 to 20°C. Germination can be slow (up to 3 months) but seedlings should be thinned out as they grow on and over-wintered under glass before planting out after hardening off in spring. Alternatively, spring sowing can be undertaken as before, often without the need for heat.
Flowering period:
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Eventual height:
1m
Eventual spread:
0.45m
Position:
Full sun / light shade
Rate of growth:
Average
Soil:
Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil
Hardiness:
Fully hardy
approx 25 seeds
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