Hey everyone, what kind of soil do your columbines grow in? I love the look of the plants but I think I read somewhere that they don't do well in clay, so I'm hesitant to pop them into the ground here. I do have one growing in a pot (identity unknown, was a gift from a friend)...will try to post pix later...
pam
Show Us Your Columbine #2
Pam, they grow in my slightly amended clay. Soferdig has clay soil too.
Dave
Leaf miners?
LOL
I used to have them really bad in my columbines, and they made the hollyhocks look so terrible that I got rid of those plants altogether. Then I found out about Bayer's cyfluthrin / imidocloprid sprays and got some at the Dollar General store for $3 (concentrate). It works! It is rainproof and lasts 30 days. I sprayed last year after the miner's tunnels appeared. No sign of them this year anywhere, as I am spraying every 30 days as a preventive measure. However, this spray can have the problem of killing spider mite predators and lead to mite infestions, so beware. My bottle says Bayer Advanced Garden Rose and Flower Insect Killer.
Maybe next year there will be no leaf miners to spray for since no adults will be around to lay eggs.... I hope so. I hate using toxic sprays but sometimes it is the only way to deal with a chronic problem.
Toxi
I have clay and use raised beds. I add about 5 parts compost and 1 part clay. If the clay is a brick builder (very fine) I have changed to 8to 10 parts compost, needles, sticks, wood chips. Please note this is all in Raised Beds.
Soferdig mmmm i like that yellow swan,the ones i planted look just like it ,nice yellow to.
Soferdig, The blue one looks like my Music Harmony Hybrid.
Andy P
I am not in charge of any of my DW plantings and she does not know. I can only ID them when this forum shows one and then I know. We have over 30 cultivars and I am starting to get the names. The blue definatly is a mistic Harmony. The seeds we get are going to be interesting because we have a lot of natives here. Hopeing for a good cross.
Soferdig are you going to be trading any seed this fall ,All us columbine lovers should plan a big swap this fall what do you think.
Well I am not a geneticist so I do not know which bee polinated which columbine. So how valuable mine are will be up in the air but remind me in a couple of months and I will send you some. I will by then have an idea of what I have and what crosses are possible. I forget so remind me. Another one.
Soferdig your wife has very good taste...
Here's Origami Red & White.
And O Blue & White.
I have no idea what this variety is (pretty, though :) ), my friend Alicia gave it to me out of her garden, any ideas?
pam
My DW says that you might like this one also. Allmost black
I started seeds of a varigated leaf columbine, they are coming up now in my coldframe, will take pics when I get outside, tiny but looking good :)
Soferdig i dont think it maters is thay cross or nut i think that part of the fun seeing what you do get ,and anyway your bound to get at least one true to its mother,Im looking forward to this fall.
OhioBreezy i started some columbine called roman bronze and a lot of them came up with a varigated leaf and that are realy nice looking plants and thay worn't suppose to be varigated,i guess thay must have came from open pollenated columbine, i guess this is what you sofadig was talking about open pollenated you never know what you will get isn't gardening fun.
Well I don't even collect the seed before DG. I just waited for it to grow and bloom here in the bed. I don't know how many are seed and how many are planted.
here's my first colombine ever. 'Songbird Robin'. I bought some mixed songbird...5 plants, but the 2 'Robin' are the only survivors. the other 3, planted right next to them, are sick and shriveled.
grampapa, I found they are weak too, the blue one, Bluebird I think, has gone altogether, some Cardinal hanging on, but I have got some good ones from the seed off it. You should take some seed from it and try growing some.
This is one that is only ever small but keeps returning, it looks a lot like Robin, but the tepals are very long, thin and wavy.
thanks, wallaby. the other 3 looked to be blue, but the flowers never opened and I think they are all about dead now. Never really bloomed, so no seed. I think I'll take a look thru the plant files and find some better ones. there are so many and the colors are wonderful. by the way, that red and yellow cross you posted earlier is a beauty.
I think so too grampapa, it started out with some genetic faults but looks to be coming good, it does stand out nicely amongst the rest.
Spring Magic is a fairly short one and very robust, mine is 'Spring Magic Red', I found the label, looks like rose and cream to me!
'Cardinal'
Don't know which one this is, but I've had it for about thirty years. It doesn't get very tall, and it blooms like crazy. I've got a couple different colors of this kind.
Don't remember which one this is either.
A. canadiensis that I dug last year from the ditch by my grandma's farm. That thing has gotten HUGE this year!
McKanna's Giants
I love the McKanna's Giants. Oh the Cardinal too. I like them all as a matter of fact.
I don't think I posted this before and I don't know the name.
Hello, First I'd like to say that all the columbine are just beautiful. How do you get them to grow so big?
I found this one growing next to my steps by my front deck, hubby thought it was a weed and was going to pull it up. I told him to leave it alone, so he did. I have no clue where it came from.
Can some one tell me what it is called, it's all white.
Thats the best picture I can get of it, because of its location.
Connie
Connie,
I can't tell you what it is, but I would guess it is a gift from the birds.
Pauline
it's a nice little gift, there is another one next to it, but it is even smaller, Then there is one on the other side of the steps, when it flowered, it was white with a tint of pink with it. the flowers are gone on that one. should I move these to a sunnier spot? It stays mostly shaded where there at.
Connie
I would move them into a sunnier spot. Mine that get a least a few hours of shade a day are the happiest. I have them in all sun conditions though full shade to full sun. You can collect seeds or let them self seed.
thanks zenpotter, there are alot of seed pods on all 3 plants, I have been watching everyday so I can get them before they all reseed.
could you possibly answer a this question. I have 4 different seeds and I started some already. The seedlings are doing good.
How do you cross breed them to get different colors?
Mine are in all sun conditions, too, and they do equally well in all of them.
cegoins, Aquilegias cross pollinate very easily by bees and will throw all sorts of colours, depending mostly one what you or your neighbours already have.
oh okay, didn't know that, just learned something new :) thanks
Connie
Connie, I would move them too. Wait till the seeds are ready to pick then cut off the seed stalk before moving. Be careful with the tap roots.
Good luck.
Andy P
My mother-in-law once pulled out all my columbines when she was "weeding" my garden for me. From now on, strict supervision! :)
sarahskeeper, thanks will wait. Also, next year will there be more of them or just the 3 I have?
lol winging, don't blame you one bit for the supervising,
Connie
Connie, they don't 'multiply' but they do self seed.
A few weeks ago I was given some seed, I put them in a big flat outdoors. They are just now sprouting. I will pot them up when they get a couple true leaves and plant them this Fall.
Andy P
What I meant by multipy, was that they would come back plus there would be others from the seeds. (self seed) for got what it was called.
I spent over 12 hours up at the universay of michigan yesterday, a friend of ours son had to have a new heart pump replaced and I was super tired last night. But thanks for the reply, I am new to gardening and slowly but surely learning a few things :0)
Connie