Fan columbine
Aquilegia flabellata · Ranunculaceae
A dwarf Japanese columbine with thick, fan-shaped, blue-grey leaves and plump, nodding flowers of lilac-blue tipped with white.
- Size
- 10 in tall, 12 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Early May to early June
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Edging
A bed built around fan columbine
The planner designed this bed around fan columbine when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why fan columbine stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Fan columbine × 8, blue
- 2 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 8, tan
- 3 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 4 Blue wood aster × 5, lavender
- 5 Dwarf English boxwood × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Coneflower 'Green Jewel' × 3, green
- 7 Spring starflower × 12, white
- 8 Surprise lily × 7, pink
Why this plant
- The only bells. The others are spires, daisies and trumpets. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only blue.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 10 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 58% of the edge.
- 8 plants in 2 runs (5 and 3). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From early May to early June.
- In company. With spring starflower in early May: 2 kinds at once.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 53% of the visual weight and the right half 47%. The front edge is finished with fan columbine and moor grass 'Greenlee'.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where fan columbine goes in a border
At 10 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: edging. A low, neat plant used in short runs of three or five along the front to finish the edge (or, in a formal bed, in one even row).
Short, sturdy and longer-lived than its taller relatives, with foliage good enough to edge a bed. Leaf miners trouble it less than other columbines.
- Edging in part shade
- Rock gardens
- Containers and troughs
What to plant with fan columbine
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Dwarf crested iris: in flower together for two weeks, from early May; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
- Foamflower: in flower together for four weeks, from early May; spires rising out of its mound.
- Japanese painted fern: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (18 in) to stand behind it.
Questions about fan columbine
Does fan columbine need sun or shade?
Fan columbine grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does fan columbine grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does fan columbine flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to early June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Late May to mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid May to mid June |
| Zone 5 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 6 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 7 | Late April to late May |
| Zone 8 | Mid April to late May |
| Zone 9 | Mid April to late May |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should fan columbine be planted?
10 in (25 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 12 in (30 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 in (25 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many fan columbine plants do I need?
At 10 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 17 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 13 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 55 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).
In the bed above, the planner used eight in two groups.
Is fan columbine poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs and cats. Seeds and roots can cause stomach upset if eaten, and the sap may irritate skin.
Is there a pet-safe plant like fan columbine?
These come closest to doing what fan columbine does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late June to late August.
- Balloon flower 'Sentimental Blue': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers early July to late August.
- Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; yellow, not blue, wants moist soil.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after fan columbine?
Fan columbine is over by early June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
- Astilbe: from late June to mid July, 24 in tall.
- Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips': from late June to late August, 8 in tall.
What does fan columbine look like in winter?
Fan columbine dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Aquilegia
- Columbine Aquilegia
- Columbine 'Nora Barlow' Aquilegia vulgaris 'Nora Barlow'
- European columbine Aquilegia vulgaris
- Golden columbine Aquilegia chrysantha
- Rocky Mountain columbine Aquilegia caerulea
- Wild columbine Aquilegia canadensis
In these guides
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Plants with blue flowers
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 10 in (25 cm) tall, 12 in (30 cm) wide
- Plant
- 10 in (25 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early May to early June; hanging bells; blue, white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; blue-green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.