Types of Columbine – Hybrid, Native, or Double

Choose columbine by habit and origin before you shop a color. McKana Hybrid is a tall long-spur hybrid. Little Lanterns is eastern red species. Doubles have packed petals. They all like cool, moist soil that drains, but large hybrids want more light and air than woodland species. Long spurs feed hummingbirds. Doubles pack petals. Woodland species take more shade than a McKana mix.

Browse all 48 garden columbine. Sun, self-seed, and leaf miners are on How to Grow Columbine. Confirm the spur and the origin on the tag before you buy. Pack art flattens both.

Choose columbine by hybrid, native, or double

McKana Hybrid and Little Lanterns share lobed leaves and almost the same moisture. This page sorts habit and origin. Prefer Aquilegia on the tag. Use columbine as a common name, not as proof of one size or one shade. Large hybrids want more air and morning sun. Woodland species take more shade. Doubles trade the long hummingbird tube for a packed petal look. Decide habit and origin before you open a color chip. McKana mixes are often two to three feet tall with long spurs. Songbird types stay shorter. Eastern red columbine is usually a woodland plant. Golden types such as Yellow Queen take more open sun. Read height and spur on the tag, not only the flower color in the photo.

McKana Hybrid is why the first question is habit and origin, not a color chip. Browse all columbine by group in the catalog below. McKana and Songbird types are tall or compact long-spur hybrids. Eastern red and golden types are species. Doubles are a packed flower, not a longer spur.

Wrong columbine buys that look like a types page

McKana Hybrid in deep dry shade: large hybrids want brighter cool light. Woodland natives take more shade, so a McKana mix in a dry eave line thins and flops.

Songbird BlueBird as a wild species: Songbird types are compact hybrids. They are not eastern red columbine, even when the flower is blue.

Crimson Star true from a seed packet: named hybrids remix. Buy a plant when color must match a design, and treat seed as a colony, not a clone.

Chocolate Soldier as a back-border giant: smaller species sit closer to the front. They still want moisture that drains. Do not plant them as a tiny McKana in the back of the border.

What each type actually offers

McKana / long-spur: Tall long-spur hybrids such as McKana and Songbird for a mixed spring border. They want brighter light and air than woodland species.

Native species: North American species such as eastern red (A. canadensis) and golden (A. chrysantha). Woodland or open sun depending on species. They are not compact versions of McKana hybrids.

Double hybrids: Packed double flowers (Winky and similar). Hummingbirds prefer the long-spur types.

Crimson Star sits with mixed hybrids. Yellow Queen sits with species. Check the spur on the plant: long tubes feed hummingbirds, and doubles pack petals. Color does not tell you which. A jumbo pot of mixed McKana is still a hybrid mix. A small native plug is still a species. Nursery pot size does not change the group. If you need a named color to match a bed, buy a plant. If you want a colony that returns, leave seed and expect a remix. European garden columbine such as A. vulgaris is still columbine at the bench, but it is not a North American native in this catalog. Put it in other aquilegia, not in the native group.

Full catalog by type group (48)

Groups follow long-spur hybrids, native species, doubles, and other catalog plants. Write hybrid, native, or double on the bag before it goes in the shed. Compare a long-spur hybrid next to eastern red in person when you can: pack art flattens spur length. Songbird on an Aquilegia tag is still a compact hybrid. European garden types such as A. vulgaris sit in other catalog plants. They are not a North American native group, even when the common name is still columbine. When two bags look the same in a photo, open the spur and read the species name. Long tubes and packed doubles are different flowers. A. canadensis and A. chrysantha are different light habits. Write what you bought on the stick the day you plant, because next May a green fan will not tell you.

McKana / long-spur (7)

Tall long-spur hybrids such as McKana and Songbird for a mixed spring border. They want brighter light and air than woodland species.

Native species (4)

North American species such as eastern red (A. canadensis) and golden (A. chrysantha). Woodland or open sun depending on species. They are not compact versions of McKana hybrids.

Double hybrids (5)

Packed double flowers (Winky and similar). Hummingbirds prefer the long-spur types.

Other aquilegia (32)

Garden columbine that does not fit the three groups, including European garden types. Still grow in cool moisture that drains.

Where care, partners, and seed live

Part shade, self-seed, and leaf miners: How to Grow Columbine. Partners: Columbine Companion Plants. Sow: Growing Columbine from Seed. Named hybrids stay truer from nursery plants. How to set the pot is Planting Columbine. Species seed gives a closer match, so label the mother clump. Pack photos flatten spur length, so compare live flowers when you can. McKana reads as a long tube. Doubles read as packed petals.

Keep one named hybrid as a check plant. When seedlings drift, buy the named clump again if color must match. Species seed stays closer, so label the mother clump and pull volunteers that miss the look you planted. Little Lanterns and Yellow Queen are both species looks. Pick one native, plant it well, then add a hybrid only if the bed still drains. Wild Aquilegia lists are longer than this garden catalog. Confirm the plant in your cart against hybrid, native, or double before you take it home.