These columbine seeds and seed pods were harvested from a dark columbine one of mine. Before the heads dry out they are rather tacky and seeds will stick to the outside of the seed pod. Because of this I recommend snipping off the whole pod and placing it one a piece of newspaper or a paper plate to allow them to dry out. Otherwise you may find yourself picking off columbine seeds from your seed pods.
Collecting Columbine Seeds
Starting columbines from seeds take a little work but the flowers are well worth the wait. In order to get your columbine seeds to germinate they have to go through a cold period of at least six weeks before spring. You can achieve this by sowing your seeds in the fall and letting nature do the work over the course of the winter. Stratification can also be reproduced by sowing your seeds and placing them in the fridge for the three week period that is required.
When sowing your seeds try not to cover them completely because columbine seeds need light to germinate so just barely cover them with soil. Once you have established a few of these plants in your garden you will find that they self seed readily. Many columbines are annuals meaning they will bloom the year the seeds sprout, the one I collected my seeds from is a biennial which means it blooms the year after the seeds have germinated.
1 comment:
hmmmm.. all my Columbine plants bloom every year! They are perennial.
I have always saved the first bloom's seed pods and let them dry on the plant, dead heading others for more blooms.
In my opinion, Columbine is one of the most easy to grow..
I live in Minnesota and am a transplant from Washington state.. better climates for Columbines.
I also have dark blue and white Columbines I got from Gurneys.
They are smaller more compact plants than the wild variety.
Very hardy here in -30 degree winters.
One of my favorite perennials to fill in around the flower beds.
Hummingbirds love them too.
Great Blog,
Ellen
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