Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata 'Nora Barlow'
Nora Barlow Columbine is a semi-hardy, cool weather, short-lived perennial flower that is native to Europe but can be commonly found growing in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches a height of 24-36” and features double pink blooms with white tips which look like small dahlias. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and pollinating moths, tolerates deer and rabbits, self-sows, and is used as a cut flower!
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General Information
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Starting Columbine Seeds
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Crop Care
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Harvesting
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Seed Saving
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Companion Planting
Genus: Aquilegia
Species: vulgaris var. stellata
Variety: Nora Barlow Columbine
Also Known As: Common Columbine, Granny's Nightcap
Native to: Europe
Ease of Growing: Easy
Grown as: Perennial
Maturity (Bloom): Spring
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade.
Water: Medium.
Soil Moisture: Medium.
Attracts Beneficial Insects?: Yes. Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Pollinating Moths, as well as resisting deer and rabbits.
Containers?: Yes.
Height: 24-36”
Spacing: 12-15”
Sow Depth: 1/4"
Produces: fully double pink blooms with white tips which look like small dahlias.
USDA Zone: 3-9
Starting Columbine Seeds Indoors for Spring
Transplanting Columbine Seedlings Outdoors for Spring
Starting Columbine Seeds Outdoors for Spring
Starting Columbine Seeds Outdoors for Fall
Using companion plants as a border, backdrop, or interplanting in your garden beds will allow you to harness the ecosystem to its full potential. It is best to use plants native to your area so that the insects you seek to attract will know what to look for!
Phlox, a purplish-blue woodland flower, work well with columbines to form a shady border. Both types of flowers prefer light to moderate shade and bloom in the mid- to late spring. Another border option is the toad lily, which blooms just after the columbine wanes in spring, leading to a beautiful garden throughout the season.
A good vegetable companion to the columbine is rhubarb which, in addition to its nutritional qualities, deters the red spider mites which often prey on columbines. Rhubarb leaves can also form a natural deterrent to blackspot on roses when boiled.
Other light-shade lovings plants prove good companions to columbines. These include ferns, woodland flowers, Jeepers Creepers Tiarella, Chocolate Chip Ajuga and hostas. Cottage or prairie plants, such as False Indigo or Autumn Bluch Coreopsis, can be combined to create an informal feel while allowing varying soil conditions and light shade to yield blossoms.
Suggested Varieties
(Rheum rhabarbarum 'Victoria')
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Victoria Rhubarb is a heirloom, hardy, cool weather perennial vegetable that is native to Deptford, England where it was developed by horticultural expert Joseph Myatt in 1837. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 30” and features large deep green leaves that have green, pink, and red veins, and long tender stems that have glossy red skin. This plant can be grown in a container, is used to make insecticides, repels spider mites, and is both edible and medicinal!