Rock Bells

Aquilegia canadensis

H&S 30-80cm

• Position: full sun or partial shade
• Soil: any well drained soil, including rocky soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Flowering period: April to June
• Hardiness: fully hardy
  
  In late spring, this pretty, wild columbine produces eyecatching, nodding coral-red and yellow flowers with showy 'spurs' that hang from slender stems. Its vivid green, graceful, fern-like, lacy leaves are a feature in themselves as they catch the breeze and seem to hover above the ground. This short-lived perennial is one of the easiest columbines to grow and will self-seed freely. Much tougher than it looks, it is native to North America and Canada where it grows on rocky outcrops and woodland, and will readily seed itself. It looks best left to multiply in a natural setting, such as woods or meadows, where it can cope with dry conditions and rocky soil. Pollinating insects love it, too !
  
  
• Garden care: Cut down faded flowers to the base in autumn. This is a short-lived perennial, that will only live for about 3-4 years, so it should be planted in a place where it be can allowed to set seed. You can dig up your new seedlings in autumn and replant them where you want, or just collect the seeds and scatter them in bare patches in the border. Contact with the sap may cause skin irritation. This aquilegia does not like wet, heavy soil.