I have some of this seed. At this point, I think it would be better if you just sent a SASE, if that's okay with you. It is getting a little warm to start things here, as far as seed. Get in touch with me if this is okay with you with an address I can reply back to you, and I'll send you my mailing address.

I have oodles of seeds. Been self-seeding in my garden since 1964. Sharon

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.

Your picture above looks like the hinkleyana columbine in form and maybe because of soil conditions or something like that, they got paler this year--but also it could be a mix of the two different plants. Columbines are notorious for cross-pollinating. I think the only way to keep them coming up the same colors year after year is to keep different varieties far away from each other! I have both, too. I asked about these at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower sale last year, and was told that the yellow hinckleyana is the native Texan flower, and the red and white canadensis is native to other parts of the south, and mostly northern u.s. I've tried other columbines but they don't do very well... it seems like these are the only two I can hope for in my garden, but then maybe they will come up with new shades of color all on their own. Here is a link that might be useful: wildflower center info