Columbines create a sea of flowers in the garden from May to June. We show what you should consider when buying Akelei and where you can get it from.
So big the variety Columbine species (Aquilegia), there are of course even more varieties and hybrids. You can purchase the perennial perennials either as plants or as seeds, because they are extremely easy to grow.
Buy Columbine
Actually there are columbines like a dime a dozen. Don't put too much emphasis on a particular strain so you can just ask your neighbor for some seeds. If you are looking for something special or pure columbines, it will be more difficult. When choosing the species, pay attention to its needs. Especially with North American species, you should consider that your garden should meet the requirements of the Columbine. This applies in particular to light conditions and winter hardiness.
Otherwise, you can of course choose whether the flowers should be filled or unfilled, single-colored or two-colored. The height is also very variable. Dwarf forms often do not grow taller than 15 centimeters, while large species with a height of around 80 centimeters fit well into the perennial bed.
Buy columbine seeds: what to keep in mind
Since columbines are very closely related to one another, hybrids are more common between the different species and cultivars. Even the breeders can often not exclude this one hundred percent. Because of this, not all of your seedlings may look the same. So if you want to grow columbines from one variety, you may have to discard young plants that do not match the appearance of the species or variety in question. On the other hand, it can of course be nice to have a little more variety.
Note: In the case of seeds from wild collection, you should pay particular attention to the fact that they are certified collections, since columbines are unfortunately endangered in many places in the wild.
Buy columbine plants: what to keep in mind
When buying a columbine plant, of course, apart from the type and variety, the known important ones apply Criteria: The plant should be healthy and vital, and for the sake of the environment it should be of biological origin advisable. Plants from organic farms are often more resistant anyway. Apart from the real ones Aquilegia-Species there are still their close relatives, the mock absurdities (Semiaquilegia) and the dwarf artillery (Paraquilegia).
Recommended sources for Akeleien
Columbines are extremely popular and widespread among amateur gardeners. That is why they can be found on almost every plant exchange market. Perhaps there will be such an event or a plant market in your area soon?
Otherwise you will find an unbelievable variety of seeds of various columbine species on rareplant.eu. The company, which was originally founded in Germany, is now based in Tenerife and sells its seeds worldwide. All seeds come either from organic breeding or from certified wild collections.
The perennial nursery Gaißmayer from Illertissen near Ulm sells the columbine as a plant. You can either buy the plants on site in Illertissen or at the Online shop. Many of the plants come from our own organic cultivation, even if this is not declared online. Only purchased copies from partner companies can also be conventional. If you are interested, simply ask which plants come from organic and which from conventional sources.
More information about Columbines we have compiled for you here.
