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'Black Barlow' Columbine (Aquilegia)

Perennial

8 total reviews

  • Near-black flowers are striking in the spring garden!
  • Attracts pollinators but deters deer and rabbits. Ideal for cut flower arrangements.
  • Easy to grow in moist soils.
  • Zones 3-9, part sun to sun, 18" tall and 18" wide at maturity.
  • ZONE
  • EXPOSURE
  • HEIGHT
Size: One Quart
Regular price $23.00
Sale price Sale: $23.00 Regular price Each
Total: $23.00
Shipping calculated at checkout.
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Hand-Picked at Our Greenhouse
Shipped to Your Door
Arrives as a Young Plant
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Hand-Picked at Our Greenhouse
Shipped to Your Door
Arrives as a Young Plant
60 Day Risk-Free Guarantee
Hand-Picked at Our Greenhouse
Shipped to Your Door
Arrives as a Young Plant
60 Day Risk-Free Guarantee
Hand-Picked at Our Greenhouse
Shipped to Your Door
Arrives as a Young Plant
60 Day Risk-Free Guarantee
Hand-Picked at Our Greenhouse
Shipped to Your Door
Arrives as a Young Plant
60 Day Risk-Free Guarantee
Hand-Picked at Our Greenhouse
Shipped to Your Door
Arrives as a Young Plant
60 Day Risk-Free Guarantee

Description

'Black Barlow' columbine (or Aquilegia vulgaris) boldly blooms in late spring with deep purple or near-black flowers, contrasting with spring's typically soft hues. Its color isn't the only thing that makes it unique. Fully double and spurless flowers give it a ruffled appearance not often seen in columbines. It's eye-catching in the landscape, which is why we're not surprised that hummingbirds and butterflies enjoy it as much as we do. It's low maintenance but may need to be trimmed in summer after the foliage fades in the heat. Keep it well-watered for the most flowers and healthiest foliage.

With charming spring blooms and delicate gray-green foliage, columbine is ideal for cottage, woodland, and cut flower gardens. It grows best with part sun and moist soils, but is adaptable enough to handle full sun in cooler zones. While it's fairly short-lived, columbine tends to self-seed prolifically and form colonies in the landscape, so you can continue to enjoy it for years to come. Long stems and an even longer vase life (up to 2 weeks!) make it an excellent cut flower. Plant them alongside peonies, irises, hostas, or coral bells for late-spring interest.

Details

Botanical name: Aquilegia vulgaris ‘Black Barlow’
Common name: Columbine, Biedermeier columbine
Zone: 3 - 9
Sun exposure: Sun (> 6 hours sun) to part-sun (4-6 hours sun)
Height x width: 12-18" X 12-18"
Flower color: Dark purple to black
Foliage color: Green
Season of interest: Spring-summer
Bloom time: Spring, Summer
Features: Rain garden, rabbit resistant, low flammability, heat tolerant, deer resistant, cold tolerant, best for beginners
Uses: Accent, alpine, container gardening, border, cottage gardening, ground cover, massing, naturalizing, small spaces, underplanting, waterside, wildflower

How to Grow

Soil: Plant in moist, well-draining soil. It thrives in a wide range of soil types.
Light: Sun (> 6 hours sun) to part-sun (4-6 hours sun)
Water:Average to Moist
Space: 12-16 inches
Fertilizing: Seldom needs fertilizing if the soil is not lacking nutrients.
Winterizing: No special care is needed.
Maintenance: Remove spent flower stems to encourage new blooms.
Garden full of spring-blooming flowers

Top 10 Spring Blooming Flowers

Say goodbye to your winter blues! With sunny days and warm temperatures on the horizon, we can tell that spring is right around the corner. When you see these flowers, you know spring is in full swing. Here’s a list of our favorite tried-and-true spring-blooming plants to help celebrate the seasonal transition.

Get inspired

Plant spacing is based on the ultimate width of the plants. This figure is normally given as a range; for example, 3-5’. If you live in a cold climate and/or want plants to fill in more quickly, plan to space at the shorter end of the range. If you live in a warm climate, are on a limited budget, or are willing to wait longer for plants to touch, use the higher end of the range. Using the larger number is recommended when calculating distance from a building or structure. There’s really no such thing as "maximum spacing": if you don’t want your plants to touch, you can space them as far apart as you’d like. All plant spacing is calculated on center, or in other words, the centers of the plants are spaced one half of their eventual width apart:

bush distance

Unless you are planting in a straight line, as you might for hedges or edging, space your plants in a staggered or zig-zag pattern for a more interesting and naturalistic look:

bush distance zigzag

Not sure just how many plants will fit in your garden? Our calculator gives you the exact amount of plants required for your space. Simply update the values and the calculator will re-calculate accordingly. Spacing information can be found in the 'How to Grow' tab on each plant's page.

Plant Spacing Calculator

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  • 5 stars: 7 (88%)
  • 4 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 3 stars: 1 (13%)
  • 2 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 1 star: 0 (0%)
S
S.M. (Missouri)
Perfectly packed

These areived within 2 days of ordering and were packed beautifully. Plants are strong, were still well hydrated and healthy.

B
B.B.

It came looking healthy, I cannot wait till next season😎

L
L.C. (Iowa)

'Black Barlow' Columbine (Aquilegia)

B
B.B. (Tennessee)
Black Barlow Columbine

Arrived in great condition with roots completely covered with soil within its plastic covering. Happily growing now in the garden. Looking forward to blooms next year.

L
L.B. (Kentucky)

Arrived limp, but has started to become better

Hello! It is common for plants to experience slight stress from shipping, as they have not experienced their ideal growing conditions at this time. We recommend placing plants in a cool, shaded spot out of direct sunlight for 24-48 hours after unpacking them. This allows them a recovery and acclimation period before planting. If you must hold them longer, place them out of direct sunlight, wind, heat, and cold, and plant as soon as possible. Please email your order number and pictures of your plants to [email protected] to start the claims process, and we can make sure your plants are on the right track! https://bit.ly/ggp-guarantee

R
R. (Oregon)
Can't Go Wrong with these Plants

I have purchased several plants from this website and their plants always come carefully packed and fresh. They are also very healthy and beautiful.

O
O.L. (Virginia)
Looks beautiful

It’s even blooming

M
M.E. (Texas)
Pretty and healthy plant. Nice size columbine.

It did not have blooms on it when I rec'd it but it is blooming now. It's definitely a black looking columbine. Very healthy and pretty.

B
B.W.

looking for tall red bee balm

Great Garden Plants

Hi there! You can find our selection of bee balm here:

https://www.greatgardenplants.com/search?q=bee+balm

L
L.M.

Why does one area in plant description have zone and then in another area it says zone 8. I live in zone 9b and have purchased the plants already have been delivered. Great shape the plants are in. So should I plant them or what?

Great Garden Plants

This columbine is rated for zones 3-9 so you are good to go for planting!

R
R.B.

Also the ad states 15 percent off which I don’t think I received

Great Garden Plants

For questions about your order, please email [email protected] or check out our Help Center (link located at the bottom of our website).

R
R.B.

Why was my payment $33 when it’s stated 13:99 and I thought it was a done deal, please respond, thanks So much

Great Garden Plants

For questions about your order, please email [email protected]. We would be happy to help you resolve this concern!