Perennials
Aquilegia formosa (Western Red The species name for)
Aquilegia formosa
Also known as Western Red Columbine
Available at our Langlois nursery
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Currently out of stock
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About This Plant
Western Red Columbine (Aquilegia formosa) is a graceful herbaceous perennial native to Alaska, Canada, and the Pacific West. The only PNW native columbine.
Distinctive red-and-yellow nodding bicolor flowers with five long red nectar spurs open from late spring into mid-summer (May–July). The spurs are precisely matched to hummingbird tongue lengths. This is the PNW native hummingbird flower. Rufous and Anna's hummingbirds work the blooms.
Traditional medicine plant for at least 7 Indigenous Nations including the Quileute, Yurok, Thompson, Miwok, Shoshoni, Paiute, and Okanagan-Colville peoples. Children still suck sweet nectar from the spurs.
Coastal: native to Oregon and Washington coastal forest margins, meadows, and bluffs.
Self-sows gently in a happy garden. Appears in new spots each year. Pair with Pacific Bleeding Heart, Fringecups, Sword Fern, Redwood Sorrel, and Piggyback Plant for a moist PNW shade-edge meadow.
Plant Details
- Botanical
- Aquilegia formosa
- Common name
- Western Red Columbine
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Foliage type
- Deciduous
- Mature size
- 18-36 in tall × 12-18 in wide
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Bloom time
- Late spring to mid-summer (May–July)
- Bloom color
- Red, Yellow
- Foliage color
- Blue-green
Care Notes
Garden Attributes
- Pacific NW native
- Deer resistant
- Coastal suitable
- Grown organically
- Pollinator value: Hummingbirds, Bumblebees
- Wildlife: Hummingbird nectar, Pollinator support
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Our inventory changes with the seasons. Before you drive out, give us a call or text, we'll confirm availability and can hold a plant for you.