Colorado State Flower

The official state flower for Colorado is the Rocky Mountain Columbine. It was designated in April of 1899, and protected by law in 1925 against destruction of this rare species. It is a spring blooming flower which comes in a variety of colors from pale blue to white, pale yellow and peach – many bi-colored hybrids are now available with the sepals different shades to the petals.

The Columbine flower is the most honored state flower in all of the United States. The shape of the Columbine flower is well suited to attracting long-tongued nectar feeders, especially hummingbirds and hawk moths. The hummingbird’s slender bill and long tongue, allows the bird “to reach the Columbine flower nectar from the base of the spur, ultimately acting as the Columbine Flower’s most efficient pollinator.”

Garden Tips for Cultivating Columbine:

Because the plants grow with long taproots, they are drought tolerant but difficult to transplant when mature. The plant prefers the light shade or full sun in mild climate. Well drained, enriched soil which is evenly moist and not to much clay content is the best soil. You may grow Columbines from seed and plan on blooms from April to July. The more sun exposure, generally the more flowering will occur. Because the Columbine easily cross pollinates, different hybrids can be generated in one garden over a few seasons.

The one common problem seen with many leafy plants is the “leaf miner” which is actually the larvae of many different species of insect who live in and eat the leaf tissue of plants. Leaf miners are regarded as pests, and they can cause a great deal of damage to agricultural plants and crops, but planting “trap crops” such as Columbine, Lambsquarter, or Velvetleaf, near the plants to be protected will distract the leaf miners and reduce the damage to the other crop. This technique is known as companion planting. Although the leaves of the Columbine will dry up and curl, the flower is otherwise unaffected.