Rocky Mountain Columbine is an easy-to-grow perennial that blooms from late spring to early summer, reaching a mature height of 18” tall by 15” wide. Its flowers attract hummingbirds, and it is somewhat resistant to deer and rabbits.

As the name suggests, it is well-suited to Colorado landscapes in the high country and along the Front Range.

Though it is a native plant and often grows along hiking trails without irrigation, columbine in your garden will need regular summer water.

Please don’t collect a columbine from a trail—transplanting a native plant is bad for the ecosystem, often ends with the transplant dying quickly, and is probably illegal. Since 1925, a state statute makes it illegal to pick Rocky Mountain columbine on public lands. Your best bet for success is to purchase from a local nursery a columbine that is already in bloom.

You can grow it as a companion plant with other perennials with similar moisture needs, like creeping phlox or campanula rotundifolia (a blue bellflower); make sure soil has good drainage.

Ideal light is in an area that offers morning sun and afternoon shade. A half day of sunlight promotes blooming.

Varieties to consider for Colorado include:

Aquilegia saximontana – has blue and white flowers with hooked spurs
Aquilegia laramiensis – a white-flowered dwarf from Wyoming.
Aquilegia chrysantha – the golden Columbine, which is heat tolerant and re-blooms well if deadheaded