Columbine does not do well here. I do no know why. It does well enough in Colorado to be the Official State Flower there. Yet, the mildest of climates is Colorado are harsher than the climate here. It does not get too terribly warm in summer here. Humidity is minimal, but not as minimal as in much of Colorado. Nor does it exceed that of other regions where columbine does well.
We have certainly tried to grow columbine. It just does not work. Some of it succumbs to powdery mildew. Some succumbs to rust. The last batch just succumbed. Because it was expected, I did not bother to investigate. I got the impression that it was taken out by both powdery mildew and rust. Flowers that bloomed so delightfully when planted went to seed on their way out.
That should have been the end of it. I would not mind if someone tries again to grow columbine for next spring, even if it last for only a short while. I just do not expect to see it ever perform well here. None was planted this year. Even if someone had considered it, there was no need to add any prior to furlough, while cool season annuals for winter continued to bloom so happily.
What I certainly did not consider was the few seed that the last batch of columbine tossed almost a year ago. Apparently, at least one of those seed fell from the ledge where its parent plants lived briefly in now absent planter boxes, and into the edge of a small landscape below. It grew into an exemplary specimen of columbine, which is happily blooming as if it were in Colorado!
It is surrounded by a concrete retaining wall, a perpendicular granite wall and a big granite boulder!
Tony Tomeo 
They like to choose their spot, Columbine. I have them in my garden, relics of a packet of wildflower seed and the only ones that have established themselves. They bloom magnificently in spring and then look decorative with their lovely foliage. i bet this does well where it has landed.
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Those that were planted started to deteriorate immediately after planting, and never recovered. This one is still growing well, with healthy foliage. It is in a spot where it can stay.
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It grows very well in St. Louis. On a walk today I came across a garden teeming with Columbine. And I grew in the beds if the last home I lived in. Our wea6here is hot and hum6in the summer.
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It seems to do well in most other places beyond where I work. They seem to dislike the lack of humidity, but succumb to rust and mildew which are normally associated with humidity. Crape myrtle does the same. It seems to be damaged more by mildew here than in more humid climates.
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I’ve always loved columbines, and your photo is beautiful! 🙂 Unfortunately, I’ve had the same frustration you describe about them not doing well around here. When I tried to grow columbines, they just couldn’t outgrow the powdery mildew. 😦
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Others have mentioned that they are the sort of annual that grows best from seed, preferably self sown.
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We always give plants extra credit for surviving in seemingly hard surroundings, but the seed doesn’t care. I have seen quite a few solitary escapes locally on walks – they don’t seem to spread as much as you might imagine.
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As others have mentioned, columbine does not seem to like being pampered. It prefers to find a space for itself.
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We grow the eastern Columbine (A. canadensis). It also seems determined to find its own spots to grow, and not accept the gardener’s choices.
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That seems to be the consensus.
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Ours sets seed happily in gravel paths. Usually I let them get to an easily handle-able size then gently lift them and move them to the flower beds, and sometimes they survive that but not always.
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This one landed in a spot where it can stay. I would not want to move it. Actually, I would not mind at all if it tossed more seed in the same spot.
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Reblogged this on Tony Tomeo and commented:
Well, . . . I have not seen any since this posted three years ago. It was good while it lasted. It could still be out there somewhere, and if it were to reappear, it would be more likely to become noticeable after this last unusually wintry winter.
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