Alpine columbine

Alpine columbine: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Compact clump 30–50 cm tall and about 30 cm wide, with upright, sparsely branched flower stems.

Leaves

Two or three times divided into threes and deeply cut, blue-green; small, narrow leaves on the stems.

Flowers

Nodding, 5–8 cm across, with broad blue sepals and short, straight or slightly curved spurs. In May and June.

Fruit

Upright little pods holding shiny black seeds, ripe in July.

Roots

A taproot: move it while young and do not divide it.

Lifespan

Short-lived, often three or four years; self-seeding keeps it in the garden.

Flowering: May–June · Sowing: March–April and September · Plants: March–April and September–October · Pruning: March and July

Why grow it?

• Large, clear blue flowers: a colour few other plants offer in early summer.
• Compact and graceful, ideal for a rock garden, a gravel garden or the front of a border.
• Bumblebees and other bees visit the flowers for nectar and pollen.
• The fine, blue-green foliage is decorative outside the flowering season too.
• Fully hardy and easy to grow from seed.

Alpine columbine: where does it grow best?

• Sun or partial shade; with a little midday shade the blue stays beautiful longest.
• Free-draining soil: sand or loam, acid to chalky. A rock garden or gravel bed is ideal.
• Moderately moist: not drying out in spring, but certainly no wet roots in winter.
• Space plants 25–30 cm apart, in small groups of three to five.
• Plant it away from other columbines if you want to keep the species pure.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Sand or loam

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Normal

Size

0.5 m tall, 0.3 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -35 °C)

Goes well with

• Harebell: Another blue mountain flower, which carries on after the columbine has finished.
• Rock rose: Low, warm-coloured flowers for a sunny rock garden.
• Alpine aster: Purple stars on a low clump in early summer.
• Blue fescue: Grey-blue grass tufts that complement the columbine’s foliage.
• Saxifrage: Low cushions between the stones at its feet.

Alpine columbine: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and September–October.

1. Plant in March–April or in September–October.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the pot; on heavy soil, mix in coarse sand or grit.
3. Set the plant at the same depth as it was in the pot, with the crown just at soil level.
4. Keep 25–30 cm between plants.
5. Water well straight away and keep the soil slightly moist for the first few weeks.
6. A mulch of fine gravel around the base keeps the crown dry and looks good in a rock garden.

Care

Water

Water during dry spells in spring, especially in the first few months. After that, rarely needed.

Feeding

Not needed; at most a thin layer of compost in March. Soil that is too rich makes the plant floppy.

Deadheading

Remove spent flowers if you do not want seedlings, or let a few seed pods ripen.

Foliage

If the leaves look tatty after flowering, cut them back: fresh leaves appear for the rest of the season.

Renewal

Sow new plants every few years or keep some seedlings, because old plants fade out after a few years.

Tip: Let a few seed pods ripen every year, and the seedlings will replace the old plants on their own. For pure blue seedlings, keep it apart from other columbines.

Alpine columbine: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March and July.

When: It needs hardly any pruning. In July, after flowering and after collecting seed if you wish, cut back old stems and tatty leaves; in March, clear away dead leaves.

How:

• Cut spent stems back to the leaves at the base.
• Leave a few stems until the pods turn brown if you want it to self-seed.
• Remove foliage damaged by leaf miners or powdery mildew completely; it soon regrows.
• In March, carefully remove old leaves without touching the crown.

Caution: If other columbines grow nearby, seedlings are often hybrids with a less clear blue.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow in September outdoors or in a pot in a cold frame; the seed germinates in spring after the winter cold. Sowing in March–April also works, preferably with seed first kept moist in the fridge for 3–4 weeks. Barely cover the seed.

Moving seedlings

Lift young seedlings with a root ball in March–April or in September and plant them in their permanent spot.

Alpine columbine: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −35 °C.

• Very hardy, to about −35 °C: as a mountain plant, it needs no protection in Belgium.
• Heavy, wet soil in winter is more dangerous than frost: make sure drainage is good.
• In a pot or trough: use a gritty mix and keep the pot out of the rain in winter.

Diseases and pests

• Leaf miner: White, wavy tunnels in the leaves. Cut off affected leaves and put them in the household waste.
• Sawfly larvae: Green larvae that strip the leaves in May–June. Pick them off by hand.
• Powdery mildew: White powder on the leaves after flowering, especially in dry weather. Cut back the foliage; the new leaves are usually healthy.
• Aphids: On young stems and buds. Spray off with water; ladybirds help.
• Different colour: Seedlings flower in another colour. They have crossed with other columbines: buy seed from a reliable source or keep the species apart.

Through the year

• March: Clear dead leaves. Plant and sow.
• April: Plant or sow. Watch for aphids.
• May: Flowering begins. Watch for sawfly larvae.
• June: Full flower. Deadhead or let it set seed.
• July: Collect seed. Cut back old stems and tatty foliage.
• September: Sow fresh seed. Plant or move seedlings.
• October: Plant.
• November: Rest. Leave seed pots outdoors for the winter cold.

Edible and useful

Not edible. All parts of columbine are poisonous, especially the seeds and roots: eating any can cause vomiting, stomach ache and diarrhoea, and in larger amounts palpitations too. The flowers sometimes appear on lists of edible flowers: even so, do not use them in salads or on cakes, as the plant is poisonous. After flowering the seeds ripen in dry pods that split open easily: cut them off where young children play, or let them ripen where they cannot reach. Keep cats, dogs and grazing animals away from the plant, and wash your hands after handling it. If any is swallowed, call a poison centre (in Belgium 070 245 245) or your doctor at once.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• In the Alps it is fairly rare in the wild and protected in many places: picking or digging it up is not allowed there.
• Many plants sold as alpine columbine are in fact hybrids, because columbines cross very easily.
• The name Aquilegia is often linked to the Latin aquila, eagle, because the spurs of many columbines look like talons.