Types of Columbine Flowers With Multiple Petals

Columbine is a type of perennial flower in the genus Aquilegia. It features showy, bell-shaped blooms that have multiple petals and often attract hummingbirds to the garden. These spring bloomers also have rounded blue to green foliage. Versatile, their attractive foliage makes an ideal ground cover long after the plants have bloomed. Low-growing, columbine flowers are ideal grown in woodland gardens and open shade areas of the landscape.

Fan Columbine

• Fan columbine (Aquilegia flabellata var. pumila ‘Silver Edge’) is a clump-forming perennial that grows up to 1 ½ feet tall and 1 foot wide. It features nodding pale to sky blue petals with white petal tips that are short-spurred or incurved. Fan columbine blooms in spring and produce fan-shaped leaflets, hence its common name. It grows best in full sun to part shade and well-drained, rich soil. Hardy, fan columbine tolerates a wide range of soil types, excluding heavy or poorly drained varieties. Grow fan columbine in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 9.

Alpine Columbine

• Alpine columbine (Aquilegia alpina) grows up to 3 feet tall and 6 to 12 inches wide. It bears two to three blue flowers tipped in white and grow along the terminal raceme. The nodding flowers on alpine columbine bloom in late spring. Alpine columbine grows best in full sun to part shade and well-drained soil. Grow alpine columbine in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 4 to 8.

Golden Columbine

• Golden columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha), also called yellow columbine, is a variety of columbine with a vigorous growth rate and clumping growth habit. It grows 1 to 3 feet tall and wide and features 3-inch-wide yellow, spring-blooming flowers. The fragrant flowers on golden columbine attract butterflies to the garden. Golden columbine grows best in part to full shade, although tolerates full sun in cool climates. Grow golden columbine in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 8.

Cardinal Columbine

• Cardinal columbine (Aquilegia (Songbird Series) ‘Cardinal’) is an herbaceous perennial that grows up to 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide. It features upward-facing, 3-inch-wide flowers that are red and white. The large, flowers on Cardinal columbine attract hummingbirds to the garden and are noted for their compact form. Cardinal columbine features gray to green, fern-like foliage. It grows best in full sun to part shade, although prefers light to moderate shade. It thrives in well-drained, moist soil that is rich. To promote an additional round of blooms, deadhead the spent flower stems after blooming. Grow Cardinal columbine in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 9.