Perennial
How to grow aquilegia
Aquilegia vulgaris and hybrids
Aquilegia grows in almost any soil that does not dry out completely, in sun or part shade, and flowers in May and June. Sow from March to June or plant from March to May, then let it self-seed, because individual plants only live four or five years and dislike being divided or moved. It needs no fertiliser. The one serious threat in UK gardens is aquilegia downy mildew, so learn what it looks like.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
- Position
- Sun to part shade
- Soil
- Most soils; moisture-retentive, free-draining
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.0
- Water
- Low to moderate
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting aquilegia
WhenSow Mar to Jun or plant Mar to May; flowers May to Jun
Starting off
Sow Mar to Jun on the surface of a tray, lightly covered with vermiculite, outdoors or at 15 to 18 °C; germination takes 14 to 30 days and is helped by a fortnight's chilling. Plant out Sep or next Mar to May for flowers the second year. Plants resent division; let them self-seed instead.
Spacing and planting
Plant 30 to 40 cm apart; sow on the surface or 3 mm deep. Fine in a 30 cm pot for a year or two.
Varieties worth growing
- A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Nora Barlow'
- Spurless, pompon flowers in pink, green and white; an old cottage variety that comes largely true from seed.
- A. vulgaris 'William Guiness'
- Deep maroon-black petals edged in white. Striking with tulips and in shade.
- A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Black Barlow'
- Double, near-black flowers on 80 cm stems; good for cutting.
- McKana Group
- Large, long-spurred flowers in two-tone mixes. More elegant than the granny's bonnet types, though shorter-lived.
- A. chrysantha 'Yellow Queen'
- Clear yellow, long-spurred and scented, flowering for longer and later into summer than A. vulgaris.
Aquilegia month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Nothing to do.
- February
Nothing to do. Order seed.
- March
Sow in trays. Plant pot-grown plants. Compost mulch on thin soil.
- April
Plant. Check new leaves for the yellow patches of downy mildew and start looking for sawfly grubs.
- May
Flowering. Sow. Pick off sawfly grubs weekly.
- June
Cut to 5 cm after flowering for fresh leaves, or leave the seed heads to ripen. Last sowings.
- July
Seed ripens and drops: shake heads where you want new plants, then cut back.
- August
Prick out or pot on this year's seedlings.
- September
Plant out spring-sown plants. Move self-sown seedlings while they are still small.
- October
Clear dead leaves from the crowns.
- November
Nothing to do.
- December
Nothing to do.
Feeding aquilegia
Aquilegia needs no fertiliser in garden soil. Feeding gives lush leaves and floppy stems. A compost mulch on thin soil and a little kelp meal in a pot is the whole plan.
Low, an easy, self-seeding cottage plant.
Feeding plan
March, thin or sandy soil only
Garden compost
A 2 to 3 cm mulch around, not over, the crowns. On ordinary soil, nothing.
Potting up, pots only
5 ml per litre of compost, the bottom of the label range, mixed in. A 30 cm pot holds about 12 litres, so 60 ml, which is four level tablespoons.
June, after cutting back, optional
1 g per litre of water as a single drench to help the new foliage along, about 2 litres per plant.
Signs to watch
Weak, pale growth with few flowers
Starved thin soil
Compost mulch in Mar
Leaves yellow between the veins on dry chalk
Magnesium short
Epsom salts
Lush leaves and floppy stems
Excess nitrogen or shade
No feed, more sun
Pests, diseases and problems
Yellow, angular patches on the leaves in spring, leaves curl and brown, a white to purplish felt underneath in damp weather; flower stems blotched and bent, plants die
Aquilegia downy mildew, a disease that has spread through UK gardens since 2013
There is no treatment. Dig up affected plants at once, then burn them or bury them at least 50 cm deep; do not compost them or put them in council green waste. Do not replant aquilegias in that spot for at least a year, and be wary of plants from affected gardens.
Leaves stripped to the midribs from late April, small green caterpillar-like grubs on the leaf edges
Aquilegia sawfly larvae; there are several generations through summer
Check plants weekly from April and pick the grubs off by hand. Established plants survive defoliation and regrow, especially if cut back after flowering.
White blotches or winding pale lines inside the leaves
Aquilegia leaf miner, a small fly larva feeding inside the leaf
Cosmetic. Pinch off the worst leaves; the midsummer cut-back removes the rest.
White powdery coating over the foliage after flowering
Powdery mildew, usual on tired foliage in dry weather
Cut the whole plant to 5 cm, water once well, and clean new leaves follow.
Colonies of grey-green insects on shoot tips and flower stems, sticky leaves
Aphids
Rub them off or wash off with a jet of water. Ladybirds and hoverflies usually catch up by June.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Cut the whole plant to 5 cm after flowering in Jun for fresh foliage, or leave seed heads to self-sow and cut back in Jul. No staking. Plants are short-lived at 4 to 5 years; let seedlings replace them, pulling off-colour hybrids. Fully hardy, no protection.
Good to knowSelf-seeds and hybridises freely; cut back after flowering for fresh foliage.
Growing aquilegia in pots
Aquilegia will grow in a pot for a year or two but is happier in the ground, because it makes a long taproot. Choose a pot 30 cm wide and at least as deep, use a loam-based compost and stand it in part shade so it does not dry out in May, when the plant is in full growth. Water when the top few centimetres are dry. Do not try to keep the same plant going for years: sow or pot up a seedling every second year to replace it.
Aquilegia: common questions
Do aquilegias come back every year?
Yes, aquilegias are hardy perennials, but each plant is short-lived at around four or five years. They keep going in a garden by self-seeding, so leave a few seed heads to ripen in July and you will always have young plants coming on. Seedlings from mixed plantings will not match the parents.
Does aquilegia grow in shade?
Yes, aquilegia does well in part shade and dappled shade under deciduous trees and shrubs, which is close to its natural woodland-edge home. In deep, dry shade it flowers thinly. In full sun it needs soil that holds some moisture in May and June.
Why are my aquilegia leaves turning yellow and curling?
Yellow angular patches followed by curling and browning in spring usually mean aquilegia downy mildew, which kills the plant and has no cure. Look under the leaf for a pale felty growth in damp weather. Remove the plant and bin it. Yellowing of the whole plant after flowering in dry weather is normal ageing and is fixed by cutting back.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.