they will germinate via the winter sowing method, just give them some time, they are not one of the first to germinate, but they will with some time. Alberta

Wanted: Rocky Mountain Columbine, (Aquilegia caerulea). I was in Estes Park, Colorado last week. I was hiking and fell in love with the blue and white Rocky Mountain Columbine. I just want 10 seeds. Can anybody help? And if any of you hardy people could collect seeds from a wild plant in the Wild, I would be just estatic. Thanks!

IF you get one of those roots, and IF you plant it right away, you might get a plant. The roots I see at those Big Box stores are usually about 1/2 dead. They get them in in Feb and let them wither. Seeds from A. canadensis are usually available from people with a trade list on these boards. Doing a search for them will also yield a bunch of results. Once you have some, they are usually self sowing if the conditions are right. (Well draining soil, sort of humus-y, some shade appreciated.) Sometimes seeds sown in early spring bloom late summer, most times not until early the following year. And yes, a good healthy root transplant almost always blooms the year you plant it. I bet a decent nursery in your area has some already in a pot so that you don't have to depend on bare roots of questionable quality from a mass merchandiser. If you do decide to go the Lowes/HD route, make sure the roots you get are pliable and have some foliage emerging from the top. Here in Z6 (PA), the first leaves are already emerging on my outside plants. Indoor roots should have a whole green crown to show.

I have transplanted this wild Columbine into my garden and they have done even better than they do in the wild around my home. I would suggest planting them right where you want them to grow; pots tend to dry out and stress plants more quickly. They tend to wilt soon after transplanting if they are going to at all so the fact that yours haven't is a good sign. Typically, the smaller the plant is the better it will transplant because there are fewer roots to disturb so if you transplant any more I would recommend taking baby ones. Also, transplanting ones that are or were in flower may stress them too much for them to finish setting seeds, just an idea because I don't know. Now that mine are established and flowering I let them go to seed the babies grow around the parents by themselves. Then you can transplant them the following spring if you want them elsewhere. Mine are growing in full shade but I think that they would probably do even better in part-full shade like you are planning on. So take courage, I think you're doing fine and you should be enjoying lovely columbines in your garden next spring!