Aquilegia canadensis (Canadian columbine)

Japanese name: カナダオダマキ
Scientific name: Aquilegia canadensis

[Overview]
A perennial 30–90 cm tall, found in forested areas and rocky slopes in its native range.
There are two kinds of leaves, basal leaves and stem leaves; the basal leaves are twice ternately compound, and the leaflets are 3-lobed, with large rounded teeth on the margins.
The basal leaves have long petioles.
The leaves on the stem are alternate and usually 3-lobed.
Flowers bloom facing downward in the inflorescence at the stem tip.
The flower has a distinctive shape: five red, petal-like sepals spread open, and the yellow petals gather in a tube at the center.
The lower half of each petal is red and forms a pouch-like, slender spur that projects long behind the flower from between the sepals, and the tip of the spur is spherical.
Nectar collects inside the spurs.
The fruit is a follicle.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained place.
It may weaken in direct midsummer sun, so in summer move potted plants to bright, airy shade, and plant those in the ground where they will be in the shade of 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 basal 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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