So, who was the source for the mystery columbine? And how will I know if it ever gets a “real” name? And if I want to save seed from it, should I get rid of my other columbines? You sell more than one columbine–how do you keep your seed strains pure?
What differentiates a bulb from a perennial plant is that the nourishment for the flower is stored within the bulb itself.…There is something miraculous about the way that a little grenade of dried up tissue can explode into a complete flower.
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The columbine in question came from Josef Halda from the Czech Republic and you would have to write to him to find out ( I have his address if you like) whether it has gained an official name. Accession numbers are for individual plants so the # in question actually refers to their mother but will have to do until a specific comes along to further identify them. His collections are all wild and the information in his catalog includes year & place collected. As to keeping columbines separate, it is nearly impossible as the bees like them so well. In order to be sure of what I am offering I either only list plants from wild or commercially collected seed by their names, or use ‘strain’ to denote a clump kept as solitary as possible. The ‘JJH’ plants are in my gardens so distinct in size & vigor that I have been re-selecting and am growing on some for future years. I too wait for a species name.