For those of you who grow these in zone 8b/9a, can you give me an idea of where they are happiest? Do you have yours in deeper shade because the summer is so hot, for example? In your garden, who are its neighbors? Ive never grown a Columbine before so Im a real novice with this plant. Any advice is appreciated. I read all the "official recommendations" but how do I adjust for this oven I call home?
Columbine natives
I have mine in partial shade and they do great, they do like water though, but not too much.
Mine grow alongside Japanese Holly Fern, also a variegated ginger, in an almost north facing bed against the house that gets partial shade.
Mine are under a live oak. They get sun early morning.
They didn't do very well for a while, until I finally figured out it wasn't the amount of light, it was that they didn't get enough water under the tree. This year they have been fabulous.
I have mine on the north side of the house with lots of shading from a big oak tree. That area gets a sliver of direct hot afternoon sun, so I planted taller things on the west end that can handle the sun and provide additional shade for the columbines. I almost lost all of mine a couple of summers ago from lack of water. :/
Thanks, everyone. Im looking forward to growing these and siting a plant is always a head scratcher for me. My space is small so it is more difficult for that reason, too.
A side note, my columbines that come up volunteer take several years to get mature enough to bloom, so don't get discouraged if they grow well but don't bloom the first or second season. And during the peak of summer heat they may seem to die back a bit but will put on new growth when the fall temps come. I pull out the sickly looking stems as they decline a bit during summer. Hope these hints help.
yes, diggin, that's just the kind of info Im seeking. Thanks so much.
I have standard yellow ones that are on a west facing wall of the house but it gets shaded rather quickly later in the day. They do get enough water and are next to a 23 year old huge rose bush. It did take 2 years before they started blooming. I think this is the second year for blooms. I collected the seeds to start them from a group of them at the local hospital and just tossed them in a few places and these are the ones that chose to come up. I have scattered seeds in several other places but none have decided they like the conditions enough to grow anywhere else.