Aquilegia chrysantha (golden columbine, "Kibanaodamaki")

Japanese name: キバナオダマキ （黄花苧環）
Scientific name: Aquilegia chrysantha

[Overview]
A perennial 30–90 cm tall (at most up to 120 cm), found in its native range in moist, fertile places such as along gorges.
There are two kinds of leaves, basal leaves and stem leaves, both tinged with bluish green.
The basal leaves are 2 times ternately compound, with leaflets divided into 3 lobes and with large rounded teeth on the margins.
The basal leaves have long leaf stalks.
Several leaves are borne alternately on the stem, usually divided into 3 lobes.
A raceme at the stem tip bears bright yellow flowers facing sideways to upward.
The flowers have a distinctive shape: 5 petal-like sepals spread open, and the petals gather in a tube at the center.
The lower half of each petal forms a pouch-like, slender spur that projects far backward from the flower between the sepals.
Nectar collects inside the spurs.
The flowers have a slight fragrance.
The fruit is a follicle.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by division.
For division, separate the rhizome by hand at the parts where it has naturally divided.
It prefers sunny, well-drained places.
It may weaken in direct midsummer sun, so in summer move potted plants to bright, airy shade, and plant those in the ground in a place shaded by deciduous trees.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless sunny weather continues and the soil becomes severely dry.
If base fertilizer is applied, almost no further fertilizer is needed, but for potted plants liquid fertilizer may be given once every 2 weeks during flowering.
Pests and diseases include soft rot, powdery mildew, aphids, spider mites, cutworms and slugs.

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