Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
lilblossom

Too late to wintersow Columbine? (And other shade plants)

LilBlossom
13 years ago

So, "thanks" to being sick for the past week and a half, I missed the Chicago Flower and Garden show. *pout* So, to "treat" myself, I wanted to get some seeds for some shade loving plants to plant out front, underneath our two gigantic evergreen/ugly trees. (I can't remember the English name for them right now)

Anyway, I really like Columbines, but they say that they need 3 weeks of pre-chilling before sowing. Would that be too late here in the Suburbs of Chicago?

How about Lupines? The few seeds I had were unfortunately demolished by the puppy. :o( Hosta?

Thanks for any and all feedback! :oD

Comments (15)

  • gardenweed_z6a
    13 years ago

    Lupines and columbines need the cold moist stratification in order to sprout. While there's probably plenty of cold weather left, the question is whether or not there's enough freezing temps remaining to do the job. I'm guessing not but hopefully others will weigh in with their experiences.

    Hosta doesn't need cold to germinate from my experience. I sowed some hosta seeds indoors 3 years ago on June 20 and they sprouted, grew on & went dormant in November of that year. They came up again last year and grew to about twice the size they were the first year. They went dormant again but I expect they'll show up again next month some time.

    I don't have columbine seeds left over but I do have LOTS of hosta seeds from my H. sieboldiana 'Elegans' you're welcome to in exchange for BEAP. I also have astilbe and coral bells seeds harvested from my own plants. Neither of them needs cold stratification (as far as I know) and I'd be happy to send those along too.

  • LilBlossom
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thank you Gardenweed! Now... what does BEAP stand for?

  • terrene
    13 years ago

    Well, I just sowed both Lupines and Columbine this weekend, so I hope it's not too late. For the Lupine seeds, you can supposedly clip the seed coat with a nail clipper or soak them in lieu of cold stratification. I soaked the seeds in hot water for about 24 hours, then sowed.

    I sowed five different colors of the Columbine Origami seeds, which are cultivars of Aquilegia caerulea. Last year, I sowed Aquilegia caerulea 'Mixed Colors' on February 28th, and got lots of germination on those. Same basic time frame, so I'm assuming there's enough cold weather left here in our zone for them to sprout.

  • gardenunusual
    13 years ago

    I just did some columbine today, we'll see what happens!

  • gardenweed_z6a
    13 years ago

    I'm glad others spoke up LilBlossom. I've already got so many containers, I'm putting aside seeds that need cold strat to WS next year.

    BEAP = Bubble Envelope And Postage. If you'd like some seeds to play with, send me an email and I'll reply with my mailing address.

  • msbatt
    13 years ago

    You can cold stratify your seeds in the fridge. Just put them in a little soilless potting mix in a zip-loc bag, dampen it, and put it in your crisper drawer for a few weeks, then sow.

  • margarita10
    13 years ago

    LilBlossom,

    I have the following colors of columbine:

    Pink, purple, red/yellow I do not know the names but they are very pretty. I can send them to you.

    send me an email with your address and I will mail them to you.

    Happy gardening,

    Margarita10

  • lgslgs
    13 years ago

    Columbines should be fine if you sow them now. They don't all need cold stratification.

    I've had great germination on ones sown in January, June and in August. The summer ones took about 4 weeks to germinate.

    Lynda

  • LilBlossom
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thank you all for your feedback! :o)

    I think I'll take Margarita10 and Gardenweed up on their generous offers. Wooohoo! :o) Now I need to get the family to drink more milk!

  • terrene
    13 years ago

    Come to think of it, I got lots of little Columbine seedlings that popped up last summer after the native columbine Aquilegia canadensis bloomed during the Spring. That was the first year it had bloomed (Ws'n in 2009); so obviously those seeds did not require any cold stratification.

  • sharoncl
    13 years ago

    I think it depends on the kind of columbine... most species don't actually require a cold strat. period to germinate, but there are a few that do. This year, I started 5 different kinds of columbine indoors in seed trays and they all germinated within a few weeks, so I'd guess it would be fine to wintersow them right now.

  • flora_uk
    13 years ago

    There are columbines and columbines. If you sow a species, like Aquilegia canadensis, you will get Aquilegia canadensis babies. If you sow Aquilegia vulgaris there is no guarantee the offspring will be the same as the parents. I have pink, blue, purple, white, purple and white, double and single. They all come from self sown columbines and are highly variable - there is no way of knowing what will appear. Even if you sow a named cultivar like Nora Barlow or Magpie you may well end up with a percentage of variable seedlings. So if you take up a kind offer of seed be aware that you may not get exactly what you expect. A. vulgaris doesn't need cold stratification.

  • mnwsgal
    13 years ago

    Columbine can germinate over a period of weeks so don't empty your container right away as you may get more sprouts. Here in Z:4 I have sown aquilegia as late as 4-1 and gotten good germination at the end of April through mid-May with some sprouts even later through the summer.

  • hepatica_z7
    13 years ago

    I have read, and have seen from experience, that columbine germinates readily when the seed is fresh--i.e. just harvested from the pods. Otherwise it seems to need cold stratification.

    They really do hybridize promiscuously. This makes for some lovely combinations if you don't mind mixed colors. Seed from my McKana Giants made a lovely bed of smaller-flowered but beautifully colored plants. The colors coordinate and the abundance adds to the appeal. I would never have ended up with so many plants if I had to PAY for seeds!

    Hepatica

  • LilBlossom
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks all for your feedback! :o) I have been reading, just not getting around to responding.

    And a HUGE thank you to Margarita10! I just got your seeds in the mail yesterday. Thank you SO much for all the additional seeds you sent me! I hope to get sowing this weekend, hips and back allowing. :o)