Columbine Are Like Candy
So we all agree that wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), also called red columbine, is the most beautiful perennial flower for shade, right? Exactly.
A friend of mine likes to say that columbine are like candy, you can never have enough. Certainly A. canadensis, native to North America east of the Rockies, is a sweet wildflower. The dangling red and yellow blooms put me in mind of colorful chandeliers.
In a moist, partly shady spot wild columbine will grow to substantial plants, in my garden about two feet high and three feet wide. The blue-green foliage is very attractive, and makes a nice groundcover after spring bloom is done if the soil is sufficiently moist.
A. canadensis is much less common in garden centers than the exotic species and cultivars. That is unfortunate because in addition to being native, A. canadensis is much more resistant to leaf miner, an insect pest that disfigures many columbines.
Columbines are a bit unpredictable, which is part of their charm. Individual plants may not be long lived, but they will self-sow. Once you have columbines, your are likely to continue to have them into the foreseeable future. Even so, seedlings are easy to pull out or transplant.
They do tend to pop up in some inconvenient spots. For example, there is one growing between pavers on the path into the back garden. Eventually it will have to come out or be run over by the wheelbarrow. For now, however, I do not have the heart to remove it.
Columbine are supposed to be attractive to hummingbirds, but I have never seen hummers feed on this flower in my own garden. The bees do like them.
One problem that occurs with columbine here is that they tend to bloom at the same time that cottonwood trees are dropping their fluff. The fluff gets stuck in and on the flower and at least partially ruins their appearance. This year it has not happened, I’m happy to say, perhaps because the unusual weather has thrown off the cottonwood/columbine synchronicity.
Do you grow columbine in your garden?
gardeninacity 
I have an area full of columbine of varying colors but mine prefer drier shade. Leaf miners devour them every year, which drives me nuts. I used to have the little red natives but swapped them with a friend and now I miss them. I never see hummers at my columbine, either.
I sympathize. All my columbine are the native, and I have little to no trouble with leaf miners.
They look beautiful and seem to have put on a good show this year. Are they always so reliable? I grow Aquilegia vulgaris in purple, pink and white and they also spread everywhere! Mostly they love a really sunny position though, and are extremely drought-resistant. I agree, you can never have enough of them. They add height and colour and need virtually no care!
Mostly reliable. They are not necessarily long lived, but always replace themselves by self-sowing.
It grows itself and so far, I’ve allowed this benign neglect. It has also crossed with the purple shades for me. I’m not sure which of the parents think this has resulted in trashy offspring, sort of a pink, but with leaves more the color of the native, and decidedly more its thinner, airier form particularly in its flower.
I’ve heard that columbines tend to cross breed, but I haven’t seen it because I only have the one species.
I have it growing all over my woodland garden. I put one plant in a decaying stump years ago and it has self seeded in very interesting places. Love them, especially when they wave in the wind.
Yes, mine really likes to seed between pavers in my garden path.
I agree! Mine self-seeds but not to the point of being a nuisance. And I’ve never seen a hummingbird on mine either.
I almost always let it grow where it pops up.
I do grow columbine and recently found what I believe are a few native plants. I won’t know until they bloom, but if they are natives I’ll collect a few seeds to grow here.
The seed are really easy to collect.
I don’t grow it but I’m considering it for my hillside. I have alot of grass that my husband won’t let me rip out! If I ripped it out I’d have alot more room to have fun in.
Is he planning on any trips soon? The grass might fall suddenly ill while he’s away.
I’ll have to try columbine again here. I tried it once, several years ago, and I think the woodchucks ate it. However, lots of local people have told me they have good luck with it. Also, we do see it occur naturally in wooded areas, which would indicate the deer and chucks don’t bother it. It reminds me of my father, who took seeds from wild plants in the woods when I was a child and planted them alongside our house, where they put on a stunning display each spring.
I don’t have woodchucks so I’m not sure how much a problem they are. The rabbits seem to leave the columbine alone.
I think the native red columbines are the nicest, but you are right, they are hard to find, with mostly exotic hybrids for sale. I tried several different hybrid colors, and of course they seeded around and all came up purple! I want to try the wild red ones — your pictures show such big, healthy, pretty clumps.
I ordered mine from prairie nursery in Wisconsin. After that, I had all the seedlings I needed.
I have lots of columbines in my garden including canadensis. I also have some barlows, mckanas (my favourite) and new this year grown from seed last year viridiflora which are also called chocolate soliders. These last one are very pretty but I need to rethink where they are as the dark flowers don’t show up very well
Columbines are really great additions to the garden.
Hi Jason, I really like Aquilegia, they’re so easy to grow from seed and low maintenance once they get going. The ones I have are a smaller, more compact form than the ones you have. They grow as a small dense mound of leaves with the flowers held aloft on strong slender stems above them. The bees seem to like them. While the seed pack said they would be all blue, we’ve got all sorts of colours with singles and doubles. A they’re a real treat.
Sounds nice! The bees like them in my garden also!
Oh Yes, I have columbine in my garden. But I didn’t plant them; they were here before. And they are the cultivars though extremely beautiful. I love these delicate flowers. They indeed look like candy — those pumpkin candy (red-yellow, tastes so nice) small candies (what are they called) that you find everywhere during Halloween.
Are you thinking of candy corn?
I don’t have columbines in my garden, but I am always on the look-out for suitable plants for my woodland area. Only thing is, the area is rather full by now so if I am to squeeze in any more plants they should really be quite small and dainty…
But your photos are lovely so maybe I should look into this one 🙂
Come on, I’m sure you can squeeze in a few more.
I completely agree with you, columbine are lovely and cheery and hardy as long as you let them grow where they like, but I guess a lot of plants fall into that category. I love their ethereal quality, very wispy and breezy. They are definitely one of my favourite flowers 🙂 and I love the colour of yours.
A favorite of mine, as well.
Beautiful! I’ve grown to love these sweet little blooms. And I agree about the foliage–so pretty.
In the right spot the foliage can form a groundcover.
I have many different columbines, and new exciting ones each year. They do tend to sow themselves a bit too much, but are easy to pull up. I really like to see what new specimens the bees have made each year.
I understand that there are always surprises.
Yep, I’ve got two red varieties. At Longwood Gardens they have a section of the most beautiful colored columbine that is not available to the public, I so wanted them. They had two gardeners painstakingly dead heading them. I could see that their only job of the day there was so many of them.
So did you get any of those dried seed heads?
I have the native and non-native columbine…love them…more like lays for me…just can’t have enough.
Very pretty. I grew A. canadensis ‘Tequila Sunrise’ from seed last year, which should flower for the first time soon. I’m looking forward to seeing how they perform; they are very different in shape and colour from our European ones.