Sunshine Columbine

Extraordinary double blooms, Here is an easy way to get serious "wow factor" in late spring...all the way through early summer. One of the best cultivated varieties available, Sunshine Columbine (Aquilegia x caerulea 'Sunshine') features unique double yellow blooms with a butter yellow bi-color and long spurs. Best of all, these fantastic flowers continue to bloom for nearly six weeks in most years!

You'll love them and your guests will be amazed! Local Hummingbirds and butterflies can't get enough of Sunshine's early-season nectar held in the distinctive spurs. These spring bloomers steal the show in the early season and reflect the color of the warm sun.

They make fabulous nosegays to celebrate May Day. Little children get so excited by these miraculous yellow "Fairy Flowers". The golden blooms are raised high above the dark green foliage on tall, slender flower stems. They'll catch every breeze in a showy, springtime dance! Hardy throughout USDA growing zones 3-8, Sunshine is wonderfully cold-hardy!

Planting and Application:

These highly ornamental blossoms are so beautiful! They start blooming as the first of the Daffodils finish and bloom around the same time as Peonies and Iris. Plant Sunshine in prominent places near the fronts of your garden beds, up close where you and your garden visitors can study them!

Grow plenty of them to enjoy in your garden borders, and to use as cut flowers, so include these pretty plants in hard-working Cutting Gardens. Each bloom will last a few weeks in a vase. Try featuring individual blooms in tiny bud vases, placed in small groupings on your bedside table.

Try them in a bold yellow-toned garden to welcome the new season! Underplant a showy Forsythia shrub with Daffodil bulbs and Sunshine Columbines. Continue that life-affirming, yellow color scheme with golden summer blooms of Coreopsis and native Black-Eyed Susan. You'll feel great about supporting local pollinators with spirited Goldenrod and creeping Angelina Sedum at the edge!

Columbines are wildflowers that "self-seed". Trust us, this is a good thing! You'll be excited to see where Mother Nature decides to plant the new Sunshine Columbines. Transplant any tiny seedlings to expand your planting, if you'd like.

Cottage Gardens become sunnier with a wild mix of Sunshine Columbine, Little Lanterns Columbine and Winky Purple & White Columbine. Make the most of their welcoming whimsy and showy form. Have fun with these playful, ephemeral wildflowers!

Let them play hide and seek with boulders, in Rock Gardens, and skirting garden sculptures. Mass several of them in the dappled shade along your winding woodland paths. But, these plants do need a sturdy partner whose foliage will grow tall to cover starting in mid-summer.

• Showy Wildflower With Sunshine Yellow Petals
• Lavish, Fully Double Yellow Blooms
• Nectar-Rich Pollinator Resource - Flowers Last Over a Month!
• Finely-Cut, Mounded, Delicate Foliage
• Dark Green Leaves Make a Wonderful Contrast
• Edging & Accents in Containers, Beds & Borders

#ProPlantTips for Care:

Durable perennial Sunshine Columbines require at least four to six hours of sunlight a day. They are happy in full sun but do need a consistent amount of water. In hotter climates, Columbines do better in locations with afternoon shade or dappled all-day partial shade.

Columbine needs rich, well-drained soil. Elevate your planting in a raised bed, if your planting site stays wet after rain. They'll really appreciate the beneficial ingredients in Nature Hills Root Booster. Give them support over the life of the plant by helping their tiny rootlets access water and micronutrients. Place a 3-4 inch layer of mulch over the root system, then pull it back from directly touching the crown and stems. Apply supplemental water on a regular basis.

Deadhead to prevent self-seeding and encourage a rebloom as soon as the first round of flowering fades. Or, let them reseed hither, thither, and yon...you'll be thrilled to have more of these gorgeous blooms! Once the leaves start fading in late summer, trim back the foliage.

• Carefree & Easy to Grow in Full Sun to Partial Shade
• Widely Adaptable Most Well-Drained Soils
• Versatile & Drought Tolerant Once Established
• Deadhead For Rebloom & Prune As Flowers Fade
• Extremely Cold Hardy Perennial Plants

Feed your soul! Add the exquisite blooms of Sunshine Columbine this season. You'll love the high quality coming from our perennial plant experts at Nature Hills!