Columbine is a pretty perennial, discreet and decorative when planted in a bed.
In summary, what you need to know:
Last name : Aquilegia
Family : Ranunculaceae
Type : Perennial
Height : 20 to 80 cm
Exposure : Sunny and partial shade
Ground : Ordinary, well drained
Flowering : April to June
From sowing to flowering, the care of columbine is very easy while the effect is very decorative. (Photo © Natalia Greeske)
Sowing and planting columbine
First of all, know that the location is important because columbines love the sun but also cool soils.
Light shade can be important where the climate is hotter and drier in summer.
The columbines then reseed themselves spontaneously from year to year.
Purchased in a bucket, columbine is planted in theautumn or to spring but especially outside periods of frost.
If you want to seed, the sowing in place is possible from months ofApril provided that the soil temperature is above 12 °.
If the climate in your area does not allow it, prefer a sowing under shelter for implementation 2 months later.
For accelerate lifting, keep your seeds at the bottom of your refrigerator for 15 days and sow at the end of this period.
- They are relatively ephemeral plants but which reseed themselves abundantly.
- So let the columbine sprout, you will have nice surprises
- Multiplication by division of the tuft in autumn or early spring but this technique should be avoided because the roots are fragile and columbine does not like to be disturbed ...
Care of columbine
Remove faded flowers as you go to stimulate the emergence of new flowers and to deplete the plant.
By cutting off faded flowers, you will also avoid over-invasive spontaneous sowing.
Cut back the foliage at the end of flowering. Especially if your columbines have been affected by powdery mildew, cutting everything off gives way to new foliage and new bloom.
- Cutting back can be done several times a year without risk for the plant
To know about columbine
The columbine which is sometimes called Shepherdess Glove, Notre Dame Glove, Cornette, Aiglantine, Colombine or Tourette gives very pretty flowers which will allow you to make superb bouquets.
You will place them mainly in clumps, but they are also found in borders or in rockery.
The columbine forms tufts with blue-green foliage, and if alpine species remain small enough, bedding varieties can reach 1 m in height.
Finally, columbine tolerates acidic soils very well and adapts perfectly to all heather earth plants.
Columbine is very sensitive toPowdery mildew and it is often difficult to get rid of it. Better to prevent it from setting up.
- Do not water the foliage, especially in summer
- Remove affected foliage as you go
- Follow our advice fight against powdery mildew
On the parasitic side, it is subject to attacks by snails and slugs.
Avoid soils that are too chalky for this type of plant because columbine dreads them.