Aquilegia skinneri

RHS Plant Profile
Mexican columbine

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Mexican columbine RHS

Other common names

Skinner's columbine

Synonyms

Aquilegia mexicana

Plants for pollinators
Herbaceous Perennial

A herbaceous perennial, up to 1m high, with blue-green leaves and nodding flowers in summer which have green-yellow sepals and petals with yellow-orange skirts and long, bright red spurs

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Chalk, Loam, Sand

Max Height

0.5-1 metres

Max Spread

0.1-0.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
2–5 years
Max Spread
0.1-0.5 metres
Max Height
0.5-1 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Loam Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing or East–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H4

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Ranunculaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Clump forming
Genus
Aquilegia are clump-forming herbaceous perennials with long-stalked, ternately divided basal leaves and erect, leafy stems bearing bell-shaped flowers with spreading, coloured sepals and petals with spurs, on branched stems
Name Status
Correct
Plant Range
Mexico

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in free-draining soil in sun

Propagation

Propagate by seed or by division in spring

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Patio and container plants
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Cut flowers
  • Flower borders and beds
  • Underplanting of roses and shrubs

Pruning

No pruning required, but deadheading can encourage repeat-flowering

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids and leaf-miners

Diseases

May be susceptible to powdery mildews and aquilegia downy mildew