Don't think they have enough of the clover-like look of early aquilegia canadensis seedlings. Though some aquilegia vulgaris cultivars leaf out a bit differently.

I don't think it is columbine.

Baby columbine do look much like mature columbine, just smaller. I agree that it looks like something different - perhaps something like Veronica persica.

FataMorgana

Bostedo . . . I'm in the Mid-Cities.

That very plant popped up all over my backyard this spring, and I don't remember every seeing it before. I've neither scattered seeds, nor planted columbine, and its everywhere - even nooks and crannies. Are you sure its columbine?

~ freshair

This post was edited by freshair2townsquare on Sun, Apr 14, 13 at 10:44

The photo is columbine. However I also have a lot more weeds this year that look similar enough to be mistaken, especially as young plants. The most prolific has been yellow wood sorrel. There are two others that I have not identified. I doubt what you have is columbine if it is all over the place; it will reseed here, but usually not so aggressively.

Here is a link that might be useful: yellow wood sorrel

I posted a photo of one of the other columbine-like "weeds" over on "name that plant" as Wildflower weed with columbine-like leaves.

Found the third one was cilantro upon a closer look and sniff... a result of my sloppy seed collecting from last year's garden. .

I yanked it all. The roots are very shallow.

AND I went to my old house where I planted columbine 10 years ago. I dug up some young plants and planted them. Now I know I have columbine.