Aquilegia ‘White’ Columbine

White Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris) carries pure white spurred flowers on wiry stems above soft, blue green leaves. At about 60cm tall and 40cm wide it fits a border edge or a pot, and the flowers hold well through spring. White is the shade that lifts a cottage bed at dusk.

Why you'll love it

• Flowers with real character. Five long backward pointing spurs on each bloom, delicate rather than showy.
• It seeds itself around. Left to set seed it drifts through a bed and returns each year.
• Bees and butterflies work it hard. The spurs hold nectar, and it is one of the first things pollinators find in spring.
• Frost hardy and happy in damp ground. It takes cold winters and tolerates wet feet, so a low, slow draining corner suits it.

Where it works best

Borders and mass planting. Plant 30cm apart. The foliage closes over the soil and the flower stems rise through it as one drift.

Small gardens and rockeries. It fits between shrubs, along a path edge or in a rockery pocket without staking.

Pots and containers. Three plants to a 300mm pot make a full display you can move to where you sit.

Growing White Columbine in Australia

Position and climate. Best in cool temperate, warm temperate and Mediterranean gardens. Morning sun with afternoon shelter gives the longest flowering. It is frost hardy, so cold tableland gardens are ideal.

Soil. Rich soil with plenty of compost worked through. It tolerates wet feet, unusually for a perennial, so a damp bed is no problem, though not a puddle all winter.

Water and feed. Keep the soil moist through spring and summer: it is not a drought plant. A complete fertiliser as growth starts in late winter, then compost, is enough.

After flowering. Cut the stems back to tidy the clump, or leave a few to ripen for seedlings. Columbine is short lived, usually three or four years, so letting some seed set is how you keep it going.

What to expect when it arrives

It is sold as tube stock, a young plant with a small crown and a few leaves. Tubes establish quickly in a prepared bed and normally flower in their first full spring, though one arriving late in the season may take until the following year.

The foliage is soft and can look a little tired after transit, which it grows out of within a fortnight. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Perennials for a cottage garden
• Creating a cottage garden in Australia
• Bee and butterfly plants
• The full flowering plant range

Common questions

Is it safe for pets and children?

No. All parts of columbine are toxic if eaten, seeds included, so keep it away from small children and out of beds dogs graze. Handling it is fine.

How long does a plant live?

Three or four years is typical, normal for the species rather than a fault. Let a few flower heads ripen and drop seed and the patch renews itself.

How far apart should I plant it?

Thirty centimetres apart. Closer spacing gives a denser look in the first year but crowds the crowns as the clumps widen.

Will it grow in a warm climate?

In warm temperate and Mediterranean gardens, yes, with afternoon shade and steady moisture. It is not a plant for the tropics or subtropics, where summer heat cuts flowering short.