I have several clumps of aquilegia in my garden, all the wild type,
i.e. columbine, aquilegia vulgaris, shades of mauve and purple, all
self sown. But one clump is a double and I rather like it. If I
collect the seed will it come true, i.e. will the seedlings also be
double, or would I be better off dividing it?

--
Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall, very mild, sheltered
from the West, but open to the North and East.

On 29/05/2022 22:37, Chris Hogg wrote:
> I have several clumps of aquilegia in my garden, all the wild type,
> i.e. columbine, aquilegia vulgaris, shades of mauve and purple, all
> self sown. But one clump is a double and I rather like it. If I
> collect the seed will it come true, i.e. will the seedlings also be
> double, or would I be better off dividing it?

IME, aquilegias are some of the most promiscuous plants around. In
particular, named varieties appear to produce seedlings of a standard
purple flower pretty quickly. If you can divide them then that would be
the way to go, but /can/ they be divided? The RHS also refers to taking
basal cuttings (see under "propagating" at
<https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/aquilegia/growing-guide>), but I don't
know if that's possible.

The only one i have been growing for several years is /A. longissima/
which appears to stay true from seed. However, I've got some seedlings
of another aquilegia coming up, so when they flower - and if they can
pollinate A. longissima - it will be interesting to see what results.

--

Jeff

On 29/05/2022 22:37, Chris Hogg wrote:
> I have several clumps of aquilegia in my garden, all the wild type,
> i.e. columbine, aquilegia vulgaris, shades of mauve and purple, all
> self sown. But one clump is a double and I rather like it. If I
> collect the seed will it come true, i.e. will the seedlings also be
> double, or would I be better off dividing it?

They don't often come true but you get so many seedlings that you can
pick and choose ones that have the traits you want to select for at
flowering time (ie now). You have to net them to control pollination.

They tend to quickly revert to wild forms given half a chance.

I have an almost black one with white centre and a not quite blue one
after a few years of selection. Also I have outcrosses from a variegated
white form that gives paler pastel shades and less vigorous growth.

My favourite cv is harlequin which is a clear red with yellow centre. My
cottage garden has them in a vast multitude of shades. I take the seed
heads off the uninteresting ones pretty soon after flowering. Beyond
that they fend for themselves. I suspect you can propagate them in early
spring by splitting a root in spring but I have never actually tried it.

I also carefully rescue any of the variegated ones since they are much
less vigorous being rather short of chlorophyll. I have a few that are
almost yellow foliage with white flowers now. One parent was truly a
green/yellow leaf variegated cultivar. It required back crossing to get
a few stable ones that now seem to persist in the garden.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 2022-05-29, Chris Hogg <me@privacy.net> wrote:
> I have several clumps of aquilegia in my garden, all the wild type,
> i.e. columbine, aquilegia vulgaris, shades of mauve and purple, all
> self sown. But one clump is a double and I rather like it. If I
> collect the seed will it come true, i.e. will the seedlings also be
> double, or would I be better off dividing it?

I think generally double blooms don't produce much, if any, seed. So you
may have to propogate vegetatively. RHS recommends basals cuttings.

On 29/05/2022 22:37, Chris Hogg wrote:
> I have several clumps of aquilegia in my garden, all the wild type,
> i.e. columbine, aquilegia vulgaris, shades of mauve and purple, all
> self sown. But one clump is a double and I rather like it. If I
> collect the seed will it come true, i.e. will the seedlings also be
> double, or would I be better off dividing it?
>

Once went to a talk by the National collection holder, most of their
named forms they did from basal cuttings, but some were seed strains and
came largely true.

Ours have had a good year this year and we have fallen in love with them
again, but I just let nature take its course.

--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk