Despite their unpredictability (they appear in different places and then quickly disappear), or maybe thanks to it, eagles are one of the most popular garden plants.Although they fade away in the second half of summer, they are valued for their delicate flowers with an original shape, ease of cultivation and versatile use.
The genus Aquilegia includes about 70 species of meadow, forest or mountain perennials from Europe and northern Africa and North America. In Poland, there is one naturally occurring species - the common spotted eagle, Aquilegia vulgaris, growing in bright forests. Common species are rarely grown in gardens, but many of them have given rise to numerous multi-colored hybrids.
All taxa of the genus draw attention to the characteristic structure of flowers composed of colorful sepals and petals stretched into long spurs, resembling eagle's claws.Apart from flowers, the leaves of the eagles are also decorative. Their bright green decorates the flowerbed from early spring.Unfortunately, the leaves dry up after flowering, which should be taken into account when planning your neighborhood.
The varieties grown as ornamental plants reach about 100 cm in height. They bloom at the turn of May and June, sometimes until the beginning of July. There are two types of them: short- and long-distance. The first group are hybrids of the common spotted eagle.They have smaller flowers with slightly centered sepals. The flowers are usually single-colored: white, pink, purple or maroon.They can be single, full or semi-double.
Particularly noteworthy is the 'Nora Barlow' variety with full flowers, but without spurs.The flowers of the typical variety are white and pink, but other colors are also available, such as 'Black Barrow' with dark blue flowers. The second group of varieties, classified as the hybrid spotted eagle, Aquilegia hybrida, was created as a result of crossing many species.These varieties have two-color flowers: the large and star-shaped sepals are blue, purple or red, and the petals with long spurs are white or yellow.
Apart from these hybrids, only a few species of the spotted eagle are cultivated. These are most often lower high-mountain species, e.g. the Alpine spotted eagle Aquilegia alpina, the blue Aquilegia coerulea or the fan-shaped Aquilegia flabellata, growing up to 25-50 cm. All the species mentioned have blue and white flowers. The yellow spotted eagle, Aquilegia chrysantha, is one of the higher species, reaching 80-100 cm in height.
Spotted eagles breeding
Eaglets sow themselves very often. Thanks to this, they appear in different parts of the garden.This is also the easiest way to reproduce them. Division of plants is not always successful. Seeds are sown in spring, from March to June, in boxes or directly into the ground.The seeds germinate in the light, so they should not be covered with a substrate.After producing a few proper leaves, dive the seedlings into pots or on a seedbed. In autumn we plant it permanently.
Position, soil and company
Eaglets feel best in partial shade, e.g. in flower beds imitating the so-called fringe communities, i.e. on the edges of plantings of shrubs or trees.In such conditions, they bloom longer and more profusely, but they also do well in the shade or in the sun, as long as the soil is not too dry.Fresh, moist and fertile soil is most suitable for them.
They should grow in species-rich flower beds - so that the neighboring plants would cover the leaves that dry in summer. They do well, for example, among ferns, foxgloves, mites and funkias.They can also be used as cut flowers for summer bouquets.Low species work well in rock gardens.
