Growing Columbine from Seed Indoors

Columbine flowers are actually one of the sweetest flowers in spring gardens. Columbine flower scientific name is Aquilegia spp. The Columbine plants have an airy appearance, with small, rounded leaves and tall flower stalks that hold the blooms above the foliage. The mid-spring blooms fill the void between early spring bulbs and peak garden season. Most Columbine flowers are popular with hummingbirds, bees, and gardeners.

A number of native species are grown as garden plants, but this plant has been in cultivation for many years, resulting in dozens of popular hybrids and cultivars, with more developed each year. The Columbine plant readily crossbreeds, and most gardeners who plant 2 different varieties sometimes are gifted with self-seeded volunteers that have an entirely new appearance.

 

Columbine Flower Facts

The scientific name: Columbine flower scientific name is Aquilegia spp.

The common name: The common name is Columbine.

Family: The plant belongs to Ranunculaceae family.

The plant type: The plant is Perennial.

The mature size: The mature size is about 15-20 inch tall, 12-18 inch spread.

Sun exposure: The plant prefers  Full, partial sun.

The soil type: The plant does well in moist but well-drained soil.

The soil pH: Acidic, neutral.

Columbine flower bloom time: Spring, summer.

The flower color: The flower colors are pink, blue, yellow, orange, red, purple, white.

The native area: The plant is native to Europe, North America.

Toxicity: The plant is toxic to people and pets.

 

Growing columbine indoors  

-         The Columbine plants will germinate best if they are sown in seed trays or pots and chilled (refrigerated) at forty degrees Fahrenheit for three to four weeks.

-         Sow the Columbine seeds indoors using a seed starting kit.

-         Try and cover the Columbine seeds lightly with seed starting formula.

-         You have to keep the soil moist at sixty-five to seventy degrees Fahrenheit.

-         The Columbine seedlings will emerge in twenty-two to thirty days.

-         As soon as the Columbine seedlings emerge, make sure you provide plenty of light on a sunny windowsill or grow the seedlings three to four inches beneath fluorescent plant lights turned on sixteen hours per day, off for eight hours at night. You can raise the lights as the Columbine plants grow taller. Incandescent bulbs will not actually work for this process because they will get too hot. Most plants require a dark period to grow, don’t leave lights on for twenty-four hours.

-         The columbine seedlings don’t actually need much fertilizer, you can feed them when they are three to four weeks old using a starter solution (half strength of a complete indoor houseplant food). Make sure it is according to the manufacturer’s directions.

-         Before planting them in the garden, the columbine seedling plants actually need to be “hardened off." Accustom the young columbine plants to outdoor conditions by moving the columbine plant to a sheltered place outside for a week. Make sure you protect them from wind and hot sun. If frost threatens at night you can easily cover or bring the containers indoors, and then take them out again in the morning.  This hardening off process actually toughens the columbine plant’s cell structure and it will also reduce transplant shock and scalding.