Has anyone had any success with keeping an unusual aquilegia going for more than a couple of years? We used to have a superb one, small flowers, soft scarlet, with a gold edge to each petal. It has now disappeared.

This year a most unusual double one has turned up, the outer petals an almost iridescent mauve, the inner ones a pale lilac. I have not the slightest idea which of the many hundreds of aquilegia in the garden are the parents, so was wondering if there was any way to bulk it up and perhaps eventually split it.

"beccabunga" wrote in message
...

Has anyone had any success with keeping an unusual aquilegia going for
more than a couple of years? We used to have a superb one, small
flowers, soft scarlet, with a gold edge to each petal. It has now
disappeared.

This year a most unusual double one has turned up, the outer petals an
almost iridescent mauve, the inner ones a pale lilac. I have not the
slightest idea which of the many hundreds of aquilegia in the garden
are the parents, so was wondering if there was any way to bulk it up
and perhaps eventually split it.




--
beccabunga


I love aquilegias and have a garden full of them, but I, too, lose good
forms from time to time.

Because they're so promiscuous, seed isn't all that reliable when you want
an exact clone, although it's worth trying: a good parent may well produce
good prodigy. The RHS guide to propagation advises sowing fresh seed in
summer, or older seed in the autumn so that it may vernalise (chill over
winter to break the seed dormancy).

The RHS also suggest division/basal division but, of course, you can only do
that if you've got enough plant material to split.

I have often wondered if, along with other members of the Ranunculaceae, it
would be possible to take root cuttings. I've never tried it and, in truth,
not all aquilegias make stout enough root. If one were to attempt it, the
roots would have to be planted horizontally on the soil, rather than
vertically. It may be worth trying with a bog-standard A. vulgaris to test
the theory.

Somewhere (up North, I think) there is a national collection. Google on
NCCPG and see it you can locate it. You may then be able to contact the
collection holder and ask their advice. If they don't know, I can't imagine
who does.

Good luck. If you learn anything, do please share it.
Spider