Aquilegia viridiflora seed
LATIN NAME: Aquilegia viridiflora
COMMON NAME: Green Columbine
LATIN NAME: Aquilegia viridiflora
COMMON NAME: Green Columbine
Green-flowered columbine is the delicate, nodding wildflower of the cool mountain woods of the eastern Asia, and it brings a quiet, airy grace to the shaded border. The small, greenish-yellow bells with their long, curved spurs hang on slender stems above the fine, deeply divided leaves, and the plant flowers in the late spring and the early summer. It grows in tidy clumps and is a charming, easy plant for the cool, moist, half-shaded spot. The nodding heads and the fine foliage give it a refined, old-fashioned look.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The columbines have been a favourite of the botanists for a long time, largely because of the long, spurred flowers and the way they are pollinated. Researchers have studied the relationship between the shape of the spur and the tongue of the visiting hummingbirds and the moths, and the genus shows up regularly in the work on the flower evolution and the pollination biology. The green-flowered species has a quieter but steady place in the studies of the woodland perennials and the garden plants of the temperate world. The breeding of the many garden columbines is well documented, so the methods are reliable.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The green columbine is a fine plant for the shaded border and the woodland garden. The flowers pull in the long-tongued bees and the moths, and the plant seeds itself gently around the garden without becoming a nuisance. The fine, lacy leaves make a neat, fresh ground cover through the season, and the nodding heads add a quiet charm to the spring. It has drawn attention in the international horticultural press for its unusual colour and its easy ways, and it is a generous, low-maintenance plant of the cool, moist corner.
The columbines are a large and handsome family, and the green-flowered species from the eastern Asia is a fine, quiet relative of the better-known garden columbines of the Europe and the northern America. The nodding, spurred bells are made for the long-tongued bees and the moths, and the plant seeds itself gently around the garden, turning up in the most pleasant of the unexpected places. The fine, lacy leaves make a fresh, neat clump that looks well through the season, and the plant is a charming, easy companion of the cool, moist, half-shaded border. It is a refined, old-fashioned flower with a quiet way about it, and it has been a favourite of the cottage and the woodland garden for a very long time. The soft green bells are an unusual and a charming addition to the shaded border.
The columbine seeds are best given a cold, damp spell before they wake up. Mix them with a little moist sand and keep them in the fridge for about a month, then sow them on the surface of pots of moist, free-draining soil and press them in without covering them, since they like the light. Keep the pots in a bright, cool, sheltered spot and water gently. The seedlings come up steadily and grow on into fine young plants that will flower in their second spring.
(Aquilegia viridiflora) are perfect for the middle of a sunny, moisture retentive border. They attract butterflies and bees. Columbine is also a great choice for rock gardens, naturalizing and they make beautiful accent in a bouquet of cut flowers or arrangements.
• PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS
• Sow Indoors: Spring (6-8 weeks before last frost)
• Sow Outdoors: Spring/Fall
• Seed Depth: Surface sowing – press seeds slightly into the soil
• Germination Time: 14-21 Days