I live in the Pacific Northwest and the many fir trees surrounding our property provide quite a bit of shade which is very pleasant in the summer but can make it moister than other climates. The extra moisture can create problems with fungus which I thought was creating the discoloration on my columbines. Each year after blooming the columbines lose all of their beautiful foliage which I thought was just a matter of their life cycle. After a close inspection of my plants and some research I found out that the problems might be from different types of leaf miners and sawfly larvae. Although columbines are one of my most favorite flowers I'm considering getting rid of all of them that I have. Picking off the larva one by one everyday for several weeks and spraying with a bug spray helped somewhat but now the leaf miners are having a field day. Any suggestions for someone who does not want to use chemicals! Or should I focus my efforts on other flowers and bid my columbines adieu?
