Texas Gold Columbine

Common names: Texas Gold Columbine, Hinckley’s Columbine, Hinckley’s Gold, Capote Columbine

Botanical name: Aquilegia chrysantha ‘Hinckleyana’

Characteristics

Size: 2 feet tall by 2 feet wide

Flowers: yellow-gold with long spurs

Bloom time: March through May

Leaves: bluish gray-green, scalloped edges

General information:

This columbine is a Texas native from the Big Bend region and a Texas Superstar plant. It has large yellow blooms and great heat tolerance. This cool season perennial can add a blast of color to a shady area in the garden. The neat rounded growth habit will work well in a formal landscape or a mass planting will provide a spectacular spring show.

Pests and Disease Problems: Spider mites and/or leaf miners may attack foliage during the heat of summer; if so, prune the plant to just above the crown. The plant will leaf out again in the fall when daytime temperatures cool down.

Growing in North Texas: Plant in an area that has excellent drainage and rich soil (lots of organic matter).  For clay soils, create a raised bed to avoid the roots sitting in a pool of water.   This columbine will do well under a deciduous tree where it will be shaded in the heat of summer, but receives some sunlight during the winter growing months.

Texas Gold will do well if receives one inch of water (from irrigation or rain) every 7 to 10 days so the soil stays moist.  Apply a slow-release, high nitrogen fertilizer in October, December and February. Cut back dead growth. The Columbine will come back in the spring and can be propagated through division every couple of years.

Note: The flower nectar attracts butterflies and bees, and is the larval host plant for the Columbine Duskywing.

References:

TAMU AgriLife Extension, Texas Superstar Plants

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Keywords (tags): shade, perennial, Texas native, flowers, yellow, heat tolerant