Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants
Herbaceous Perennial

Aquilegia coerulea
  • RHS Plants for pollinators

Rocky Mountain columbine

An upright perennial with mid-green leaves and deeply lobed leaflets; hairy on their undersides. Flowers are bicoloured with pale to dark blue, wide-spreading sepals and white petals with slender spurs

Other common names
Colorado blue columbine
Synonyms
Aquilegia macrantha
Aquilegia leptocera
see moreAquilegia helenae hort. ex Bergmans.
Buy this plant
Size
Ultimate height
0.1–0.5 metres
Time to ultimate height
2–5 years
Ultimate spread
0.1–0.5 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Clay
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained
pH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Blue White Green
Summer Blue White Green
Autumn
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
  • Partial shade
Aspect

South–facing or North–facing or West–facing or East–facing

Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered
Hardiness
H5
Botanical details
Family
Ranunculaceae
Native to GB / Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Clump forming
Genus

Aquilegia are clump-forming herbaceous perennials with long-stalked, ternately divided basal leaves and erect, leafy stems bearing bell-shaped flowers with spreading, coloured sepals and petals with spurs, on branched stems

Name status

Correct

Plant range
Western N America

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade

Propagation

Propagate by seed sown in pots in a cold frame as soon as seed is ripe or in spring. It can also be propagated by division in spring but the plant will be slow to recover

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Cut flowers
  • Flower borders and beds
  • Underplanting of roses and shrubs
Pruning

Cut back foliage affected by fungal diseases

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, leaf-mining flies and sawflies

Diseases

May be infected by powdery mildews and aquilegia downy mildew

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.