Aquilegia Species, Alpine Columbine, Mountain Columbine

I love these little guys. They are so tough in my garden; I can dig them up and move them even when flowering and they continue to bloom...Read More. They continue to multiply (from seed) and now I have enough for a mass plant in my back garden. Last year I had not the first sign of a leaf miner, never sprayed (first time).

This is really a lovely plant, but there are LOTS of lovely plants out there. This one is so very susceptible to leaf miners (you can alm...Read Moreost count on them yearly here in Ohio) that it's debatable whether or not it's garden worthy for those who don't want to coddle it. If it is infested with miners, it can be cut to the ground and will recover foliage quickly. More than one cutting down may be necessary in a season, though, and flowering may be lost.

If you are using columbines in your gardens, be sure to isolate different varieties - this genus readily "cross-breeds". So if you want ...Read Moreone to "stay true" you must plant it in a very separate area of your garden, away from other columbines. Also, columbines are very short-lived perennials - they usually self-sow their seeds, so as to return the following year. If you don't want them "flinging themselves around the garden", you should cut the dried seed pods before they release the seeds and simply sprinkle some into the crown of the plant, and either share seeds with others or dispose of the rest.