Eastern Columbine | Aquilegia canadensis

🌿 Ships well rooted in a 3.5 x 5 inch deep pot. 

Few native wildflowers pack as much charm into a spring garden as eastern columbine. The nodding, red and yellow spurred flowers are unlike anything else blooming in April and May, dancing on wiry stems above lacy blue-green foliage with a lightness that makes the whole plant look like it's barely touching the ground. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are the primary pollinator, arriving right on cue as the flowers open, and bumblebees, butterflies, and hawk moths follow. The genus name Aquilegia comes from the Latin word for eagle, a nod to the backward-pointing spurs that resemble an eagle's talons. It holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit and has been a beloved garden plant for centuries, native from Canada to Texas and perfectly at home in the North Georgia mountains and Piedmont.

It's short-lived as an individual plant but self-seeds politely and freely, maintaining a naturalized colony that reappears and wanders through a woodland bed with a relaxed, dreamy quality most gardeners immediately fall in love with. Let the seedlings grow where they fall, or lightly edit them into drifts. Foliage may go dormant or look tired in summer heat; cut it back and let it rest.

🌿 Latin Name: Aquilegia canadensis
🌞 Light: Part shade preferred; tolerates full sun with consistent moisture
🌱 Soil: Moist, well-drained; adapts to rocky, sandy, loamy, and woodland soils; average to organically rich
💧 Water: Moderate; consistent moisture preferred; somewhat drought-tolerant once established
📏 Mature Size: 1.5 to 3 ft tall; 12 to 18 inches wide; naturalizing colony over time
🌸 Bloom Time: April through June; 4 to 6 week bloom window
🗺️ Hardiness Zone: 3 to 8
🦋 Wildlife Value: Primary food source for Ruby-throated hummingbirds; attracts bumblebees, butterflies, and hawk moths; larval host for Columbine Duskywing butterfly; seeds eaten by finches and buntings; deer resistant