Columbine
A naturally short-lived perennial (usually 3-4 years) that keeps a garden going via self-seeding rather than the longevity of any one plant — let some seed heads mature and drop rather than deadheading everything, if you want it to persist.
Care
Tolerates a good range of exposure; flowers longest with some shade during hot spells.
Moist but well-drained, humus-rich soil.
Cut back flowered stems after blooming to tidy the plant and often encourage a light rebloom. Can be cut back hard to the basal foliage in midsummer if leaves get tatty or mildewed, to encourage fresh growth.
No feeding needed. It is short-lived and fast-growing and does perfectly well on ordinary soil — the plant that matters next year is usually a seedling, not this one.
Collect and scatter the seed as the pods turn brown and split, or simply leave it to do the same by itself. Named strains cross promiscuously, so seedlings come in whatever colours the bees decided — division is possible but resented.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchLight feed as growth resumes. how ›
- JuneCut back flowered stems once blooming finishes. how ›
- JulyCut back hard to fresh basal growth if leaves are tatty or mildewed by midsummer. how ›
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchLight feed as growth resumes. how ›
- JuneCut back flowered stems once blooming finishes. how ›
- JulyCut back hard to fresh basal growth if leaves are tatty or mildewed by midsummer. how ›
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. White coating, yellowing or tired-looking leaves.
What to do. Cut back hard to the base — fresh new foliage usually regrows quickly.
How to spot it. Leaves rapidly reduced to skeletons by pale green, caterpillar-like larvae.
What to do. Pick off by hand if seen; the plant usually recovers even after a bad attack.
How to spot it. Unexpected flower colours or forms in seedlings.
What to do. Normal — this genus hybridises very readily between varieties, so seedlings are rarely true to the parent; many gardeners treat this as a feature, not a fault.
Popular varieties
Questions
Columbine: is it hardy?
H7: Fully hardy anywhere in the UK. It survives below −20 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
Naturally a short-lived perennial best refreshed from self-sown seedlings every few years, whether grown in a pot or in the ground.
Columbine: when do you prune it?
Cut back flowered stems after blooming to tidy the plant and often encourage a light rebloom. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in July.
Columbine: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in May–June.
When do you feed it?
No feeding needed. It is short-lived and fast-growing and does perfectly well on ordinary soil — the plant that matters next year is usually a seedling, not this one.