Dig into Plants: Eastern Red Columbine

Eastern Red Columbine

Other Common Names: Wild Red Columbine

Scientific Name: Aquilegia canadensis

Native to Alabama: Yes

 
Monarch Butterfly
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Sally and Andy Wasowski
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Learn more about...
 
Basic Information
Classification Button
Maintenance
Adaptations Button
Plant ID
Life Cycle
 


  
Basic Information
 
  • I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous.
  • I do not keep leaves year-round in colder climates and keep my leaves year-round in mild climates, so I am semi-evergreen.
  • I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial.
  • I can grow 2 - 3 feet high and 1 - 1.5 feet wide.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Jerry Garrett
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Ecological Benefits
 
This plant provides food for:
Butterflies Native Bees Other Pollinators Hummingbirds Other Birds

  

   
Maintenance Notes
  • Dormant in winter.
  • Flowers can be cut for an indoor vase.
  • Cut back old seed heads and stems in summer.
  • Does not bloom during first growing season.
  • When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds.  Water should reach all roots.
  • Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves.
  • Requires average amount of water.
Average watering: water two times per week during the summer and once per week during the rest of the year.
 
  
  
Habitat Requirements
 
This plant prefers:
 
Part Sun/ Shade
(2-6 hours of sun per day)

Shade
(Less than 2 hours of
sun per day)
 
 Average Watering



 
 Well-drained, Sandy, Loamy, Limestone, Acidic,
                         or Moist Soil

 
 
 

   
  
Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification
 
LEAF DESCRIPTION  
Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Ray Matthews
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Shape:
Obovate		 Margin:
Lobed		 Arrangement:
Alternate		 Form:
Ternately Compound
 
Description:
Green to blue-green; leaves at the base of the plant are petiolate (have a stalk) and are twice ternately (with leaftlets in three’s) compound; leaflets are 3-lobed at the tips; leaves along the upper part of the stem do not have stalks (sessile) and are reduced in size
 

   
 
 
   
FLOWER DESCRIPTION  
Flower Shapes Chart (JPG)
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Steven Faucette
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Color:
Red, yellow, pink
Shape:
Campanulate
(bell-shaped)
 Bloom Months:
Feb - Jul
 
Description:
Drooping flowers 2 inches long with 5 upward spurred, tubular petals alternating with 5 small, colored, petal-like sepals and colored stamens hanging below the petals; petals are yellow and become redder at the tip of the spur
  
 
 
SEED DESCRIPTION  
 
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Bruce Leander
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Type:
Fruit -
Dry Seed Pod		 Description:
Flowers are followed by 5 pod-shaped, tan follicles (dry seed pod) with long beaks that contain several, small, shiny black seeds		 Months in Seed:
Summer
     
Plant spreads by:
Seeds; Readily self-seeds
   
 
 
Plant Life Cycle
Plant Life Cycle:
  • All plants start life as a seed.
  • The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots.
  • The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground.
  • After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers.
  General Plant Life Cycle - Dreamstime
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Plant Life Cycle continues:
  • After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed.
  • When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again.
  • Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.
  Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center
John Hixson
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
 
Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)		 Plant ID Sign:
Ready as-is PDF		 Plant ID Sign:
Editable Word Doc		 QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)



  

INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS PLANT

 
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