Ditto the above.

I just completed a round of expensive columbine seed->flowering sized plants. I didn't have enough or wanted to risk the natural method above. I used the winter sowing method in jugs to allow for any necessary stratification.

I planted them into beds last fall (after 1 1/2 years of container growth). I'm seeing new growth now.

Mine are typically direct planted as Susan distcribed. But dbarron’s winter sowing in jugs would be my second choice rather than refrigerator, etc.

what kind of columbine ...

the old standards.. the easily reseeding natives ...

or some of the foo foo ones?? .. of which it might be harder to succeed ..

i dont recall having any luck with the doubles ... and on the other hand.. i planted the old standard pale red/pinkish one 20 years ago ... and they are still around ... as well as a purple one.. which i love.. because its Popsicle purple .. and i dont know its name ...

ken

Columbines do have a reputation for being short-lived, and also for reseeding and wandering around the garden. But since I love the foliage, this will not be a problem for me.

"Columbines do have a reputation for being short-lived, and also for reseeding and wandering around the garden"

Which is the reason I have never bothered starting from seed. I just let the existing plants do it themselves and avoid all the work :-)

Hee, well you have to have some plants to start with...and I chose to grow the first generation in this garden from seed.

I've had columbines in every garden I had before...I figured after five years, it's time for some here.

But since I love the foliage, this will not be a problem for me.

==>>> going zen a bit ... its a green plant ... but if you are lucky.. you will attract leaf miners.. and end up with really cool variegated plants ... lol ... its just not a thing worth fighting.. imo ...

for a collector who tended toward anything but green plants.. this was a plus.. rotflmbo ....

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=columbine+leaf+miners&t=ffcm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

Actually, I've found columbine miners to not be a problem if you don't bring them in with infested plants here. That's another good reason to grow from seed. The natives may or may not have them, but I live some distance from the closest (who knows if some little glen has them) native colony of A. canadensis. And not many people grow columbines in this town (as best I can tell). I had no leaf miners on the seedlings last year.

Columbines attract hummingbirds. They are some of the first blooming plants here that the hummers love, so it's worth growing them, if you love hummers.

Does anyone hate hummingbirds ? :)

"Does anyone hate hummingbirds ?"

Nobody in their right mind :-) Here's a pic of one of mine visiting the feeder last week during our recent Snowmageddon!

Snowmageddon

==>>>> lol ...

this is Snowmageddon ..... https://www.mlive.com/weather/2019/02/snow-piling-up-in-upper-peninsula-as-marquette-has-more-snow-than-its-had-in-a-decade.html

i had a small hate for hummers ... they used to buzz my head .... until i figured out ... that it was my orange baseball cap ... i mean really ... if you are a bit jumpy about things buzzing your head.. like bees and wasps .. etc ... a freakin hummer will make you nearly wet yourself .... cuz it sound like a jet near your ear .... lol ... anyway.. i changed my hat.. and i liked hummers again ... im like.. dude.. i have 5 acres of flowering plants for your enjoyment.. can you at leasst give me the deck just outside the front door .....

reminds me of attracting cardinals ... i could not figure out why certain days... it seems like a hitchcock movie with all the loony red birds all over the place ... and then i realized.. it only happened when i left my red wheelbarrow out ... and the little winged freaks couldnt tell a female from a wheelbarrow.. whats that all about ... lol ... if you want to attract them.. put up a red flag ...

ken

ps: thank god i dont live in upper MI ...

Ken, I hope those cardinals never well...savaged... your wheelbarrow.

For best germination, refrigerate seeds for a few weeks before sowing. Use a soiless medium for sowing seeds, and do not cover seeds with media. Light helps germination. Columbine like 80 degree days and 70 degree nights germination temperature. You should get about 50 percent germination from purchased seed

https://theherbladyblog.wordpress.com/2019/02/21/how-to-grow-two-nice-alpine-columbines-from-seed/

hairmetal, which columbine? Several do best with long stratification and will germinate at cooler temps. Others could be fine without any pretreatment and closer to 70F. Most require patience as they germinate over a long period of time. And not all at once.

My fav is a. longissima and I never find the plants so have grown it from seed. I sow and put the pots outdoors late winter in this wet Z8 (protecting from birds and chipmunks) but your climate won't give them the same exposure as mine.

I hadn't thought about them in a while. The deer love the flowers too and deer are a problem since we've moved. I have no columbine at present ;0(

80 degree days and 70 nights? The columbines on my allotment clearly haven't read that guidance ;-) Those conditions are next to impossible in my climate and the columbines don't care. Perhaps we need to ascertain what species hairmetal is enquiring about. Certainly Aquilegia vulgaris doesn't need those conditions.

LOL!! Never gonna happen here either, floral :-) And those conditions are not necessary for any type of aquilegia I have ever grown (numerous different species)!! It's hard to imagine any native wildflower requiring that sort of refined or specialized propagation criteria. They all will grow quite freely from self-sown seed. LIke annual poppies and foxgloves, I just shake the seeds out of the dry stalks as I encounter them. Often I will see new plants appear later in the season but always a good crop of seedlings has popped up by the next spring. IMO, direct sow is the only way to go!!

My biggest issue is them cross pollinating and hybridizing, which they all also do quite freely, the promiscuous lttle devils!! So now I only grow the western native species, A. formosa. It is not very big or showy compared to some other cultivars/species but has a long bloom season and grows without effort in area gardens. And is deer resistant!

If you start now, you may be just ending up around the early spring for your area. While some seeds can go lower, you'd have to find that information specifically for that kind of seed.

I must be lucky about my current clumps of columbine. I don't have a good reseeding percentage, since the columbine is grown in an area with mulch, but the same columbine plants have been growing / regrowing for over 8 years now. In fact, they often don't even totally die down for the winter. I still see some of the plants doing just fine in the cold weather.

, I hope those cardinals never well...savaged... your wheelbarrow.

==>>>nor did they ravish my wheelbarrow ... lol