Aquilegia canadensis - Eastern Red Columbine

Mary | Apr 1, 2011 |

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Aquilegia canadensis is a showy perennial that is native to the eastern U.S. and Canada. This flowering perennial plant is known by several common names including Eastern Red Columbine, Wild Columbine, and Canadian Columbine. Aquilegia hardy from zones 2 – 9.

Growing plants native to your area is a way to help the local wildlife, conserve water, and keep your native plants thriving in the area that they occur in naturally. Aquilegia canadensis is a plant that attracts hummingbirds. If you want to grow a hummingbird garden this is an easy plant to start with.

Columbine blooms from late April through June and will self-seed freely around your garden. If you do not want this plant to spread, it is necessary to cut the spent flowers back before they make seed. The nodding flowers are red and yellow.

One of the biggest problems that I have had with this plant is that it is a shade plant. I have purchased and killed this plant many times not realizing that it was a shade plant. My previous garden was full fun and I did not pay attention to the sun requirements of Aquilegia. I tried to grow both the wild version and the “garden columbines” that are sold every year in garden centers. If I had bothered to read the label, instead of just falling in love with the flowers, many of these plants would not be dead today. I now live in a total shade garden but the soil that I have is acidic and this plant likes alkaline soil. I could fix this if I wanted to import soil but then I would have to deal with the fact that I have clay with a lot of organic content. Aquilegia canadensis likes soils that are a little on the lean side. I would not mind fixing the acidic quality of my soil but refuse to import “bad soil” just to grow this plant. I give up.

Wild Columbine has a long taproot, which helps with water conservation. Many plants native to the same areas as this one have either a taproot or a deep root system. This helps the plant to get water during times of drought or seasonally dry times. You can grow this plant in either moist or dry gardens but it does not like to have wet feet. The soil that you grow it in should drain well and not hold too much moisture at the roots of this plant.

I wish that I could grow this plant but when you live in an oak forest, there are certain things that you have to give up. I cannot grow Aquilegia canadensis but I can grow some great Hellebores, Azaleas, and Gold Dust Shrub. Finding the right plants for your garden can be a challenge but it is worth it. You can make your garden work for many plants but it is a lot easier to buy things that will grow in the conditions that you have.