Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Blue Columbine bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Rocky Mountain columbine, blue columbine, Colorado columbine (Aquilegia caerulea).

More about blue columbine

About Blue Columbine

Aquilegia caerulea · also called Rocky Mountain columbine, blue columbine · flowering

Aquilegia caerulea, the Colorado state flower, is an alpine native perennial bearing large, upward-facing flowers with blue-violet sepals, white centres and long graceful spurs above ferny foliage. It thrives in cool, part-shade conditions and moist, gritty, well-drained soil. Flowering in late spring to early summer, it is a classic woodland and rock-garden plant.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Leaf miner: Columbine leaf miners create whitish serpentine trails through leaves. The damage is chiefly cosmetic; cut foliage back after bloom to prompt fresh, clean regrowth.

The reasons blue columbine isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming blue columbine traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding blue columbine a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get blue columbine to flower

Maximise sun. Give blue columbine the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for blue columbine and get the feeding right with the blue columbine fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Blue Columbine flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full blue columbine care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Blue Columbine blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my blue columbine flower?

Blue Columbine blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make blue columbine bloom?

Give blue columbine the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does blue columbine normally bloom?