Delicate, nodding blooms with distinctive spurred petals in purple, blue, pink, red, yellow, and white. Columbine is a woodland favorite that blooms in late spring when little else is going yet.
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Sunlight
Part shade to full sun
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Water
Moderate, even moisture
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Type
Perennial (zones 3–9)
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Soil
Moist, well-drained
Growing Basics
Columbine (Aquilegia) is a perennial in Minnesota (zones 3–9) and one of the most cold-hardy garden flowers you can grow.
Bloom time: Late spring to early summer (May–June in Minnesota). Seed-grown plants typically bloom in their second year.
Sunlight: Part shade to full sun. It appreciates some afternoon shade in hot summers, which prolongs blooming.
Soil: Moist, well-drained soil with some organic matter. It adapts to most conditions but dislikes soggy or bone-dry soil.
Transplanting: Plant in spring after the last frost. Plant at the same depth as in the pot and handle the roots gently.
Watering: Keep soil evenly moist, especially during the first season. Once established, moderate watering is sufficient.
Fertilization: A light application of balanced fertilizer in spring is beneficial. Avoid heavy feeding.
Perennial Notes
These plants were grown from seed this year. Expect mostly foliage in year one; blooms come in year two.
Columbine is a short-lived perennial — individual plants often last 3–4 years. The good news: it self-seeds prolifically, so there are almost always new seedlings coming up nearby.
If you let seed heads mature and drop, you'll have volunteers the following spring. Let them naturalize for a low-maintenance planting.
Leafminers sometimes create white trails in the foliage — it looks alarming but rarely harms the plant. Remove affected leaves.
Hummingbirds are major fans of columbine, especially the long-spurred varieties.
