It might not be dead at all. When the columbine seedlings go dormant the leaves will yellow and dry up. I would put the plant, pot and all in the ground and leave it until spring. Or store in an unheated garage. You might also be surprised to see the original plant come back in the spring.

I have many potted columbine in various sizes that are going to be stored in my unheated garage for the winter. Even tiny seedlings in the ground survive our winters without any help from me. They are very hardy.

i am almost thinking they are near biennial ... or in the alternative.. very short lived perennials ... without a pic its hard to tell if yours simply went dormant to the floret that winters over.. or whether it died .... they do NOT retain much of anything for winter ...

there is also your digging/potting and bringing it in the house.. which leaves us only speculation if you did that properly ... its been a long time.. but dont they have a carrot like tap root.. and i am thinking they do not favor transplant.. as adults ... but like i said.. its been forever since i dug on up ... what did you use in the pot.. potting media.. or soil .. etc ...

in my z5.. the seed is left to simply fall to the ground.. where they come back in waves in spring ....

frost should be irrelevant for life .. as should freeze.. but i do see that they are usually only associated with min z3 .... but you haven't hit those terminal temps yet ... but there is a chance ... it got hit with a frost you missed ... and simply went dormant.. rather than die outright ...

need a pic to go much further.. check the link

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

I think it would have been better if you had winter sown your seed instead of trying to overwinter a new plant that is only an inch high. I have some growing in an exposed area on the side of my house at the edge of the next door neighbors driveway. It came from seed that blew there from columbine that was growing near that area.

Your baby plant may come back next Spring. Last fall I planted out some pretty small seedlings and most of them made it through the winter. A few did die, but they were pretty hardy. The smaller plants do seem to lose more of their leaves than the older more established plants. Just in case, I would overwinter your little plant in a protected spot.

I love Columbine, and it's easy to start from seed. They germinate a bit more slowly than some seeds, but no big deal. Next year I should have a big show of Aquilegia canadensis, A. caerulea, McKana's giants, and Origami mix, most of them started from seed this past spring. You have to wait a year for blooms but they're worth the wait. Start some every year from seed and you'll always have them. Also they reseed around nicely!

Here is a picture of my sorry-looking columbine.

{{gwi:282029}}

Now to clarify, I didn't dig up my original plant. I took the seeds from the spent blooms of the parent plant that had died in my flower bed for some reason and seeded them in a pot. The newly seeded plant eventually germinated (took at least a month). It was growing nicely until it just decided to die for some reason. Do you think this plant will come back in the spring if I leave it in my garage all winter? Can't try and plant it in the garden as it is now under snow as of today.

My limited experience with growing columbines is that they do not like being in pots. They grow an extensive, deep root system. I am not sure whether they grow a tap root. I have wintersown columbines and if I leave them in the pot for too long, they die, but if I plant them out in the yard, they do fine. Also, columbines die back to the ground when they freeze and come back up in the spring - but because yours is in a pot, I am not sure whether it will come back or not.

Becky

at dead center of the pic.. at 6 oclock halfway below.. a vibrant green leaf... is that from the crown ...

looks like the shock of bringing it from high humidity out doors.. into a heated house.. the leaves just couldnt handle it..

but the green leaf tells me there might be a chance ... tell me about it.. and look at every crown there.. and see if there are any other signs of life...

its still going to be hard to keep them indoors all winter... but who knows.. you never succeed w/o trying.. eh???
you may as well snip off all the crunchy ones.. they are not coming back.. and that might give you a better clue to see more live green

ken

Yes, Ken, that is a tiny green shoot coming from the crown. There is also 2 other ones that I noticed upon further inspection. Ramazz, you said you didn't think they like to be in pots. How does a greenhouse start them then? Everything you get from a greenhouse is in a pot. Columbines seem to be really slow growing. As I mentioned in my original post, the seeds took forever to germinate (I even froze the seeds prior to seeding them). I probably planted them in late June and it took months for the plant to grow a couple of inches. I tried growing the plant from seed as I was disappointed that the plant I had gotten from the greenhouse died in the flower bed so I thought I would try from seed. At the rate it was growing, I thought it would take all winter to get to be a good size for transplanting. I don't know it I should continue to try and grow it under artificial lighting or not. Guess I can just try, as you said, Ken.

I've had some columbine seedlings in pots for two or three years. Some are in gallon pots and look great and bloom well, others are still in those 4" pots (didn't get them repotted this year) and are stunted but still alive.

I suggest you take them out of the house and let them go dormant.

you said you didn't think they like to be in pots. How does a greenhouse start them then? Everything you get from a greenhouse is in a pot.

===>>> the key to answering this question.. is HUMIDITY ... your house is not a greenhouse ...

after that its an issue of perfect media.. perfect drainage.. perfect watering ... and perfect light ...

right now.. in my z5 MI .... humidity is running 80 to 100% outside.. very consistently ... in the house.. i with temps falling and furnace on.. i would bet 50% at best ...

that and even if it is next to a window... the amount of light is drastically reduced ... those two wammies.. crispified those leaves ...

there is life with the little green sprouts.. as to success.. only time will tell ...

good luck

ken

Your pot is pretty deep since those are seedlings, so that probably isn't your problem - Ken is on the right track, I think. Columbines aren't house plants. They like cold weather, though I don't know if they are hardy in your zone? I have wintersown lots of columbine seeds and they sprout pretty reliably after a few months out in the cold weather. It takes a few months for them to get big enough to plant out, but once they are in the ground, they take off. I have killed a few by not planting them out early enough - they couldn't grow the tap root in the pot, but my pots were a lot smaller than yours. Mine usually bloom the next year. Of course, I am in a completely different zone, with a longer growing season. I have never actually bought a columbine plant from a greenhouse, all of mine are from seed.

Becky

Here is one of my favorites from this spring:

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:282027}}

to clarify.. i think they are in shock from bringing them into the heated house ..

all the following variables changed at that moment:

light intensity
humidity
heat
possible frost you missed
water content of media ...

its simply shock ... and as to which caused it.. i say.. all the above ....

but that says nothing as to eventual success ... and how you will manipulate all those variables.. in your house.. for a plant that prefers not being in the house ...

lets put it this way.. its an experiment ... you may win.. you may not.. but one thing for sure.. you will learn something ... we just dont know what right now .. lol

ken