Yellow Queen Aquilegia – 20 Seeds

Yellow Queen Aquilegia (Aquilegia chrysantha ‘Yellow Queen’) is a cultivar of the vigorous, clump-forming Aquilegia species. Aquilegia are clump-forming herbaceous perennials with long-stalked, alternately divided basal leaves and erect, leafy stems bearing bell-shaped flowers with spreading, colored sepals and petals with spurs, on branched stems

Yellow Queen Aquilegia is an outstanding showy cultivar of Golden Columbine. This beautiful, tall variety bears exaggeratedly spurred flowers, the central petals being dark yellow, the outer flower parts are lighter in contrast. This longer lived, slightly later flowering species is a great choice for sunny or partially shaded borders.

The variety originates from the American Southwest and across the border into northern Mexico and it is one of the most drought-tolerant Aquilegia species and more capable of cultivation in full sun than its more alpine cousins which require a cooler aspect and ideally more shade. It blooms for months beginning in late spring with a profusion of large, cheerful yellow flowers that attract hummingbirds.

Other common names columbine ‘Yellow Queen’

Growing Yellow Queen Aquilegia

Indoor Sowing: Spring.

Direct Sowing: Spring.

• Best grown in semi-shade, but can tolerate full sun.
• Grows best in fertile, moist, well-drained soil.
• Sow at any time of the year except early to mid-summer.
• Sow very thinly on the surface of a good, free draining damp seed compost.
• Do not cover the seed or exclude light as this is beneficial to germination.
• Seal inside a polythene bag or place in a propagator and maintain at 18-20C.
• Germination takes 1-3 months and can be erratic hence the need to sow the seeds as thinly as possible.
• Check the container regularly to make sure the compost does not dry out.
• When seedlings are large enough to handle, remove them carefully from the container and pot up individually into 7.5cm pots.
• Grow on in cooler conditions in good, natural light, but avoid direct sunlight.
• In spring, gradually acclimatize plants to outdoor conditions, before planting out 30cm apart.