Double Flowered
Nora Barlow Columbine is a stunner among spring bloomers, with fully double flowers that look like tiny pompoms in shades of pink, white, and green. This heirloom cultivar of Aquilegia vulgaris reaches 24-30 inches tall and produces flowers from March through August, thriving in hardiness zones 3 and above. Deer won't touch it, pollinators adore it, and it's frost-hardy enough to return year after year even in cold climates.
Full Sun
Moderate
3-3
30in H x 12in W
Perennial
Low
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The doubled blooms of Nora Barlow are unlike typical columbines; they're so densely petaled they look more like Victorian pincushions than the airy spurred flowers you'd expect from the genus. Standing 2-2.5 feet tall with a tidy 12-inch spread, it flowers prolifically from spring into summer and asks very little in return, thriving in full sun and moderate moisture with no fussiness about soil. Once established, these plants seed themselves modestly and return reliably, making them a low-maintenance anchor for the early perennial border.
Nora Barlow Columbine is grown primarily as an ornamental for flower beds, borders, and cottage gardens. The long-blooming flowers are excellent for cutting, bringing those unusual double blooms into arrangements from spring through late summer. Gardeners value it for adding vertical interest and texture to mixed plantings, and its deer resistance makes it a smart choice for properties where wildlife browsing is a concern.
Stratify seeds for 3 weeks at 35-40°F in late winter by placing them in dampened vermiculite or clean sand, sealing in a plastic bag, and refrigerating. Eight to ten weeks before your last frost date, remove the pre-chilled seeds from the refrigerator and sow them. Keep them at 60-70°F under a humidity dome. Seedlings will emerge anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks after sowing, so patience is essential. Transplant them as they appear, one at a time, rather than waiting for all to sprout.
Once seedlings are established and all danger of frost has passed, harden them off by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7-10 days. Transplant into garden soil spaced 12 inches apart. Since Nora Barlow is frost-hardy, it can be set out after your last spring frost.
Direct sow in fall or earliest spring. Surface sow or barely cover the seeds. Germination will occur at soil temperatures between 55-70°F, typically within 15-60 days.
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