Simcoe County Master Gardeners
Grow Natives!
PLANT PROFILE
COMMON NAME: Wild Red Columbine
BINOMIAL: Aquilegia canadensis
| Family | Ranunculaceae |
| Cdn Native Range | Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec |
| Natural habitat | meadow understory, woodlands, forest edges |
| Type | herbaceous perennial |
| Features | intriguingly shaped, coloured flowers; hybridizes with non-native columbines |
| Growth habit | mounding, self-seeding |
| Mature height | 30–90 cm (12–36”) with tall flower stalks, shorter leaves |
| Mature spread | 30 cm (12”) |
| Life span | n/a |
| Hardiness Zone | 3–9 |
| Growing conditions | sun to partial shade, adaptable, not full sun |
| Soil conditions | well drained, sandy, loamy, gravelly; medium to dry moisture |
| Watering needs | supplementary watering not normally required |
| Fertilizer needs | rich soil encourages weak vegetative growth and weak stems |
| Tolerance | somewhat dry conditions; dry shade; salt |
| Maintenance rank | low |
| Maintenance needs | cut back flowering stems after blooming to promote regrowth |
| Bloom | red tubular spurs, yellow petals. late spring – summer; blooms in second year |
| Fruit | caryopsis |
| Pollinator support | larval host for columbine duskywing butterfly and pink-patched looper moth, columbine borer, tobacco budworm and mayapple borer moths; valuable nectar source for spring insects and hummingbirds when not many other native meadow plants are flowering; flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and beetles |
| Environmental support | attracts hummingbirds |
| Garden Use | shade, woodland, naturalization, rain garden |
| Risks & Cautions | sometimes susceptible to leaf miners which can decimate young plant leaves |
References: In Our Nature, www.inournature.ca; Native Plant Connection, nativeplantconnection.com/native-plant-gardening-articles; Native Plant Trust Plant Search, plantfinder.nativeplanttrust.org/Plant-Search; North American Native Plant Assn, nanps.org; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centre, www.wildflower.org/plants/; Lorraine Johnson and Sheila Colla. A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee
Photo Credits:
Wild Columbine – flower closeup (credit: Krzysztof Golik)
Wild Columbine – flowers (credit: Francis Groeters)
Columbine – clump (credit: Judy Gallagher)
