Columbine pruning

[shederr]

I have a beautiful red columbine in a flower bed. I had many compliments about it during May. It was fine just into June and now it's leaning over and just looks tired. I've dead-headed it, but am wondering if it's just done blooming and what do I do with it now? This is the first one I've had. I bought it last year and it didn't do anything last year which sounds normal for columbines. What do I do with it now? Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.

[Jan Flora]

Prune it back to something that looks somewhat civilized. Columbine will get weedy-looking after the peak of bloom. You won't hurt the plant by pruning it back to something you can stand to look at.

Jan

[Jenny]

I wouldn't dead head it too completely if you like the plant. Columbines can be short lived, so you want a couple babies to spring up to replace the parent plant.

I planted a red columbine 3 years ago along with a blue and yellow one. By last year the red one was on its last legs and the other two were gone, but there were some very small plants all around, none of which flowered.

This year I have a thicket of red columbines in various colors ranging from pale pink to lavender--they seem to have hybridized-- and the total effect is dazzling.