Dwarf Japanese Fan Columbine Seeds - Aquilegia flabellata f. kurilensis Rosea

Dwarf Japanese Fan Columbine or Aquilegia flabellata var. pumila f. kurilensis 'Rosea' is a rare perennial that produces nodding, bonnet-like blooms with a cream-coloured corolla and pinkish-purple spurs. Very hardy and easy to grow, this undemanding perennial is particularly compact - perfect for growing in pots or at the forefront of rock gardens and borders.

Dwarf Japanese Fan Columbine, also called Aquilegia akitensis, belongs to the Buttercup or Ranunculaceae family. It occurs naturally in Japan and eastern Asia. It forms very compact, bushy clumps that grow to a height and width of about 20 cm. From May to July, nodding flowers emerge at the tip of sturdy, branched stems. The cream-coloured corolla contrasts with pinkish purple spurs. The deciduous bluish-green to dark green leaves have a lacy, delicate, clover-like appearance. Aquilegias are short-lived perennials; flowering generally reaches its peak after 2 or 3 years of cultivation. Although they self-seed easily, they are not always true to type when different varieties of columbine are grown in close proximity.

Columbines have been popular ornamental garden plants since the Middle Ages. They will fit in just about anywhere, bringing a discreet lightness and fantasy to mixed borders and perennial beds; they are ideal for underplanting shrubs and trees, growing up slopes or decorating shady rock gardens. They are excellent cut flowers. In old-fashioned cottage style gardens, columbines combine well with perennials such as foxgloves, bellflowers, wood cranesbill, bleeding hearts or lady’s mantle.