Colorado Blue Columbine
Aquilegia coerulea
Colorado's state flower, lifting large, long-spurred blue-and-white blooms over ferny foliage in mountain meadows and aspen groves. Pollinated by hawkmoths and hummingbirds. The flowers are a safe, sweet nectar nibble; treat other parts with more caution, since the buttercup family includes some mildly toxic species.
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 2–2 ft
- Spacing
- 1–1.5 ft apart
- Light
- shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- June, July, August
- Bloom colors
- white, blue
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, hummingbirds
- Landscape uses
- border
- Native states
- AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, SD, UT, WY
Related native plants
More Aquilegia species
- Eastern Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
- Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa)
- Golden Columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha)
- Yellow Columbine (Aquilegia flavescens)
- Serpentine Columbine (Aquilegia eximia)
- Jones's Columbine (Aquilegia jonesii)