'Black Barlow' Columbine (Aquilegia)
Perennial
- 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
Description
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
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
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.
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:
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:
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.