Fan Columbine is an East Asian grown in U.S. rock gardens. The nodding blue-and-white flowers have short, curved nectar tubes behind the petals. Fan Columbine is considered poisonous and should not be eaten.
Appearance
Growth form
This compact, clump-forming perennial is often 12–18 in (30–45 cm) tall in cultivation.
Leaves
The blue-green leaves divide into rounded, fan-shaped leaflets.
Flowers
The waxy flowers nod on slender stems. Typical garden forms are lilac-blue and white, with five short, curving behind the flower.
Flowering time
In U.S. gardens it may bloom from April in the South to June in the North.
Fruit
Each flower develops a cluster of five dry pods with shiny black seeds.
Rocky Mountain columbine (Aquilegia coerulea) has blue to lavender flowers with much longer nectar spurs. Fan Columbine usually nods and has short, curved spurs.
Why they get mixed up · Both can have blue-and-white flowers and are sold for U.S. gardens.
Wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) has nodding red-and-yellow flowers with long red spurs. Fan Columbine usually has blue-and-white flowers with shorter, curved spurs.
Why they get mixed up · Both have nodding, spurred flowers and divided leaves.
Where it lives
Typical habitats
rock gardens
border fronts
Range
The wild species is native from southern Siberia to North Korea and northern and central Japan. In the United States it is grown as an ornamental rather than a native wildflower.
Preferred conditions
Grow it in moist but well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. In the United States it is suitable for USDA Zones 4–7, and it dislikes both drought and waterlogged soil.
Flowering
Flowers Apr–Jun
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Flowers
Flowers Apr–Jun
Growing it
Care
It works well near the front of a border or in a rock garden. It has a , so moving or dividing an established plant is not recommended.
Propagation
Grow it from seed; it may in a suitable garden.
Toxicity
The plant is considered poisonous and should not be eaten.
Name and classification
About the name
Plant labels may use variety names such as Aquilegia flabellata var. pumila and Aquilegia flabellata var. flabellata.
Varieties and forms
U.S. garden selections include compact Cameo forms in several colors, blue-and-white Ministar, and white-flowered forms such as Nana Alba.
Conservation
IUCN Red List
NENot Evaluated·Not yet assessed
Culture and stories
Culture and stories
The common name “columbine” refers to a flower shape once compared with a group of doves.