Illustration
Golden Columbine
Aquilegia chrysantha
Golden Columbine blooms from April through June.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Golden Columbine
Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–8. Expect it to reach about 2.5 ft tall and 1.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (not yet checked).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What this means
Written with AI assistance and not yet checked plant by plant against recorded sources, so treat every fact above as a starting point. Its scientific name was checked against botanical registries, an audit keeps its values consistent with the rest of the library, and a July 2026 review re-read the main facts of every plant then in the library against horticultural authorities without recording a source for each, which is why none of that counts as checked here. The source-by-source check is working through the whole library in the open, and a checked plant says so in this row.
When to plant Golden Columbine
Plant Golden Columbine in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 5, the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 8, spring means April to June and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from April to June.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 5, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 5 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Golden Columbine get?
2.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult1.5 ftwideSee Golden Columbine in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Golden Columbine
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Golden Columbine about 1.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Golden Columbine to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where it grows wild
Native to 5 states
United States: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Utah
Recorded growing wild in 24 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
Good to know about Golden Columbine
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
Best treated as mildly toxic and not a food: the seeds and roots are the most concentrated. Keep children and pets from eating them. per PLOS ONE and Cornell
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.