A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 About Columbine

I have a lovely purple Columbine......it's doing very well
just want to know what your secrets are to keeping them healthy and growing....I also need to move it to a new location as it is sandwiched between two lilacs bushes at the moment...has anyone ever moved one??..also, how do you prune/deadhead them?.....
I'm not sure how to care for them....I've done some reading, but I'm still not clear....I need to hear it from those who have success with them.....I'm in zone 5...thanks!....

Moving it is easy...but don't do it until fall. Deadhead it by snipping off the old flowers as they fade, but you might want to leave a few if you want it to reseed since they can be short lived. Columbines can get several diseases that make the leaves look bad and they can get ratty looking, so you can cut them back to the ground and they will soon have new disease free foliage.

If you fertilize several days before you move it and then again several days after the move you can decrease the amount of transplant shock it experiences too.

Remember they like shade so choose a good spot for it. I have a purple and white one and I just love it. They like a spacing of about 18 inches.

I'm in zone 3 and I find they are extremely invasive. I cannot seem to get rid of them. They grow like weeds. Although mine are currently growing in full sun, I've seen them in the shade as well.

I'm in zone 5. I've only moved my Columbine in the fall and never had any problem with it. I don't deadhead mine, I just let them go to seed. Mine are planted in the shade.

Thanks for all the good tips folks!....
the one I have now is in the shade most of the day and seems to like it there.....
I was kind of confused about what I was seeing on my columbine though, whether those pod looking things are seeds, or are they going to be flowers?
not sure so I don't know if I should cut them off...so I'm going to leave them and see if they bloom......

Lilylu, have your Columbines bloomed already this year? Mine have and they have now developed seed pods on them.

i have three and only one has bloomed so far.
i deheaded em and then had an insect attack.
(aphids i think,little white fellers)
the last bloom died and im not sure its gonna bloom again. the other two havent bloomed and im wondering if they will.

Lilylu, I'll attach a picture for you to see what the immature seed pods look like. If you plan to harvest the seeds, don't cut the pods until they turn brown...kinda crispy looking.
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Porter, I've never had much luck with mine reblooming after deadheading although I hear they will. Also, mine usually don't bloom on first year plants. Once they do start blooming, they are just gorgeous. Just this morning, I was browsing the BlueStone Perennial catalog online and saw a white one that I MUST have! Too pretty to describe. Here's a little picture of the ones that bloomed this year...
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Tulsarose, Thankyou for your pictures and explanation. I love columbines but don't have much success with direct sowing them. And I never have room in the refrigerator for a selection of them. Although the day is comming when I am going to find room one way or another lol. I think they are just wonderful And want more of them in the garden. They grow well on my clay bank and I can't say that about a lot of plants lol.

TK, to tell the truth, I've had lousy luck with "intentional" sowing of Columbine seeds. lol! Thankfully, mine have self-seeded but not very many. I'm very puzzled about the reference to them being invasive. I feel fortunate if each one of the mama plants gives me one new baby. :-) I wonder how well they would do using the "winter sowing" method? I haven't tried that yet but plan to this year. I do know the Columbine seeds do better on top of the soil...they need light to germinate.

Your right they do need light. I'm thinking about starting a bunch in my refrigerator. I do have an egg carton sitting around that I haven't used yet. I saw all the ones that Bill started earlier this year and I do have the seeds. I always get bitten by the "have to plant something bug", several times during the summer. This year I saved some celosia and some columbine to try around this time.

Dang, now you have my curiosity aroused...lol! I've never tried to start seeds in the fridge. Tell me more. :-)

Columbine
I had good luck with my Willy Columbine seeds! These all came from one pack.

Me too, Rosie! I have never found my Columbine to be invasive. :rolleyes: Actually, I wish mine would spread a little more.

Wow Bill those look great. Did you get any pictures of them when they bloomed? Did you have a bunch of doubles in the mix? I think I saw one on the package front. I don't have any doubles so if I get one in the garden I'm hoping it is very fertile lol. I'm also hoping there is one of the burgandy ones in the pack. Mixed varieties are so much fun. It adds to the anticipation greatly.

Boy, those look beautiful Bill! I have two that I really love, so I would definitely like to have some more of them.

I just want to keep a patch of them growing and I know they are short lived at what 7 years? So I'd live to have it so that I have a couple of each kind going a couple of years apart So that I don't loose any of them.

I apologize, but it really is true. The house was vacant before I moved in and they had taken up the whole side of the house and were working there way down wind into the grass. I've been here five years now and every time I see them, I have to dig them root and all, and they still keep coming - in the grass too! It's a constant battle for me. Maybe I have some weird breed, I don't know.

dld, could you post a picture of your invasive Columbines? I'm really curious to see which variety you have.

Thanks...

And harvest me some seeds? I'd love to have invasive columbine.

How do you start the columbine seeds?

My new Columbine garden

Most columbine are suppose to self-seed but if that didn't work for you, (it didn't for me) you might try planting them in a tray and keeping them in the refrigerator until they sprout. Then take them out and let them get bigger before taking them outside in the spring and hardening them off and then transplanting them into the grown just in time for them to bloom. I started mine in summer for fall planting and they are still small but they are working on getting bigger.

I have found them to be touchy but I don't have a natural green thumb and that may have a great deal to do with it.

Good luck with your columbine. I love the flowers.

I have a lot of columbine, but I dont call them invasive as they tend to stay in the one area. I deadhead at first and get second blooms, then let them go to seed.I must say those they are purple and pink that return. I have bought others which don't seem to seed as easily as the purple and pink. Could they be more of a wild variety than a hybrid? I always get a white looking line on the leaves, so I cut them to the ground once they are done seeding.