Aquilegia bertolonii (Bertolonii columbine)and Aquilegia flabellata (fan columbine)are two wonderful cultivars of columbine to add to your early spring garden. Both look lovely growing in a rock garden or an open garden.
Bertolonii columbines have large, deep blue-violet flowers. Grows 4-9″ tall. Blooms April-May, and are found in Southern Europe from the Appenines to the Maritime Alps. Zone 5-10.
Fan columbines have large, blue with white tipped flowers. Grows 4-6″ tall. Blooms April-May, and are native to Japan. Zone 4-9.
Columbines are easy to grow from seed, and this may be the only way you’ll be able acquire these two beautiful dwarf varieties.
For best germination, refrigerate seeds for a few weeks before sowing. Use a soiless medium for sowing seeds, and do not cover seeds with media. Light helps germination. Columbine like 80 degree days and 70 degree nights germination temperature. You should get about 50 percent germination from purchased seeds. This is not unusual.
Many wildflowers can be sporadic germinators, so you have to be patient. If after removing the seedlings that germinated, do not dispose of those that did not germinate. You can place the soil with the ungerminated seeds in the garden(mark the spot)to let Mother Nature take care of them, or hold the pot over in a cold frame over the winter.
A preferred method for growing is to winter sow. Store your seeds in the refrigerator until you are ready to sow, because they’ll loose their viability if left in a hot area. Get your pots ready in the fall. In early to late winter sow your seeds, and hold them over outside. Place your pots on the ground, so they don’t dry out. Cover with leaves or straw. If there is concern that they might get disturbed by an animal then put a protective cover over the pots. Remove all coverings in the spring, so the seeds can be exposed to the sunlight. There will be no need to bring them inside, because they’ll start to germinate as soon as the weather warms. A cold frame is always an excellent solution for growing plants for winter sowing. There are many ways to germinate seeds, and everyone has their own technique. The challenge is to find the one that works for you.
It’s always visibly pleasing to have a collection of plants growing together that have similar habits and conditions. This is a short list of the showiest plants that will be blooming at the same time as the dwarf columbines. All these perennials can be grown from seed.
Join a Hardy Plant Society or Rock Garden Society. They always have an excellent selections of seed available for their members. Growing any plant from seed is rewarding, and you’ll treat these two dwarf columbines like jewels in your garden to be treasured.
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