Columbines ensure a sea of flowers in the garden from May to June. We show what you should consider when buying columbines and where you can get them from.
So great the variety columbine species (aquilegia) is, there are of course all the more varieties and hybrids. You can purchase the perennial perennials either as plants or as seeds, because their cultivation is extremely uncomplicated.
buy columbine
Actually, there are columbines like sand by the sea. If you're not too particular about a particular strain, you can simply ask your neighbor for some seeds. If you are looking for something special or single-variety columbines, it will be more difficult. When selecting the type, pay attention to their respective requirements. Especially with North American species, you should consider that your garden should meet the requirements of the columbine. This applies in particular to lighting conditions and winter hardiness.
Otherwise, you are of course free to choose whether the flowers should be filled or unfilled, single-colored or two-colored. The growth height is also very variable. Dwarf forms often do not get higher than 15 centimeters, while large species with a height of around 80 centimeters fit well into the perennial border.
Buy columbine seeds: You should pay attention to this
Since columbines are very closely related to each other, hybrids are more common between the different species and varieties. Even the breeders can often not rule this out one hundred percent. Because of this, it may happen that not all of your seedlings look the same. So if you want to grow single-variety columbines, you may need to discard young plants that don't match the appearance of the species or cultivar in question. On the other hand, it can of course be nice to have a little more variety.
notice: In the case of wild-collected seeds, you should make sure that they are from certified collections, since columbines are unfortunately endangered in many places in the wild.
Buying columbine plants: you should pay attention to this
When buying a columbine plant, of course, apart from the type and variety, the well-known important ones apply Criteria: The plant should be healthy and vigorous, and for the sake of the environment it should also be of biological origin advisable. Plants from organic farms are often more resistant anyway. Except for the real ones aquilegiaspecies, there are still their close relatives, the Scheinakeleien (semiaquilegia) and the dwarf columbines (paraquilegia).
Recommended sources of supply for columbines
Columbines are extremely popular and widespread among hobby gardeners. That's why they can be found on almost every plant exchange. Perhaps there will soon be such an event or a plant market in your area?
Otherwise you will find an incredible variety of seeds of various columbine species on rareplant.eu. The company, originally founded in Germany, is now based in Tenerife and sells its seeds worldwide. All seeds come either from organic farming or from certified wild collections.
The perennial nursery Gaißmayer from Illertissen near Ulm sells the columbine as a plant. You can buy the plants either on site in Illertissen or in the Online shop. Many of the plants come from our own organic cultivation, even if this is not declared online. Only purchased specimens from partner companies can also be conventional. If you are interested, simply ask which plants are organic and which are conventional.
More information about columbines we have compiled for you here.
