Columbine: 5 Things To Know About This Beautiful Spring Flower

Columbine is a pretty perennial plant that can come in many colors. Its flowers, sometimes two-toned, unfold petals with unique shapes, rounded or truncated, or even extended by a curved spur. Here are 5 things to know about this beautiful spring flower.

It grows wild in France.

In France, columbines naturally grow at the edge of forests. You can encounter them in the wild along paths and in ditches.

Columbines are perennial plants of the genus Aquilegia and the family Ranunculaceae. Native to Europe, they are known by various picturesque names such as Shepherd's Glove, Granny's Bonnet, or Our Lady's Glove.

Due to their beauty, they have been adopted into gardens for a very long time, at the foot of shrubs, in beds, or in a shaded rock garden. This biennial flower also looks particularly impressive amidst other perennials.

It comes in a variety of colors.

Columbine flowers, carried on long stems, have original shapes and various colors, ranging from white to blue, through pale yellow, pink, purple, and brown.

The blooming, with either bright or softer colors, occurs from May to July. The flowers can be single or double, and sometimes bicolor. Gardeners are spoiled for choice as there are about sixty different species and varieties.

The semi-evergreen foliage is most often green but can also be variegated with yellow or blue. Their height also varies according to the species, from 20 cm to 1 m tall.

She is easy to grow.

Columbines are content with an ordinary soil, as long as it is rich in humus, cool, and well-drained. They grow well in both full sun and partial shade. As they accept various exposures, this plant easily finds its place in the garden.

Columbines are also very hardy flowers, capable of withstanding cold down to -20°C. An advantage of these plants is their ability to self-sow spontaneously and abundantly. These wandering flowers can appear spontaneously in the most unexpected places, including in your vegetable garden!

Spontaneous seedlings yield surprising results.

Columbines require little maintenance. It is simply a matter of cutting off the spent flowers as they fade.

At the end of the flowering period, you can also leave some flowers on the plant so that they go to seed and self-sow. With a bit of luck, you will have numerous seedlings the following spring. This is the simplest way to propagate this plant.

Note: Spontaneous seedlings do not always produce plants identical to the parent plant. Some species crossbreed easily, which can sometimes yield pleasant surprises for gardeners.

Caution: The fruit of the columbine are capsules filled with small black seeds that are toxic. The sap of this plant can also cause skin burns.

You can buy it in a pot in the spring.

If you are patient, you can sow columbine seeds between April and July. You will get young plants that will bloom the following year, as it is a biennial plant.

If you are eager to enjoy their flowers, you simply need to buy potted columbines in spring. To get a nice clump of flowers, it is recommended to plant several plants side by side.

Caution: slugs and snails are fond of this plant. Columbine is also susceptible to powdery mildew. To prevent this disease, avoid wetting the foliage during watering. In case of powdery mildew, just cut off the affected foliage because it will regrow healthy.