Growing Bleeding Heart - Bleeding Heart

Growing Bleeding Heart
Beginner Gardening

The bleeding heart is one of the finest of shade perennials and many of us were first introduced to this plant in our grandparent’s gardens.

I know my grandfather had a massive clump of them in his backyard and while they were in bloom, they were magnificent.

Two Kinds of Bleeding Heart

The first is Dicentra spectabilis (the Latin name for bleeding heart) and its varieties. You’ll primarily see the pink-blooming and the ‘alba’ or white-blooming variety. There is a gold-leaf variety out there but it is much more tender and slow growing so it is dropping off the production lists of major nurseries. These are the old fashioned bleeding hearts that reach 3-4 feet tall and bloom in early spring. Their bloom time is approximately 4 weeks.

The second are hybrids or selected varieties of D. eximia and D. Formosa. The most popular of these is ‘Luxuriant’ a pink-red although there are others with white flowers or bluish leaves. These plants only grow 12-18 inches tall but they bloom for most of the summer if cared for properly.

How To Grow

Sun: This really is a shade lover, delighting in full to part shade conditions. The taller plant will perform in the full sun but will tend to disappear in mid-summer when it has all the sun it can handle. It usually pops back up the following spring. The plant will be much happier and have better colors if you grow it in the shade.

Soils: This is a plant for fertile but well-drained soils. Think of a great woodland soil full of organic matter and richly fertile. The simplest way to mimic this is to add several shovels of compost around the base of the plant every spring.

Watering: The blooms will last for a far longer time if the plant is not water-stressed. Reduce the water and the plant will almost immediately stop blooming. It doesn’t appreciate swampy conditions though – it will rot.

Propagating Bleeding Heart

Propagation is easily done by division in the very early spring. D. spectabilis can be propagated from cuttings but this is not for the beginner – a sharp shovel in the early spring is much easier. This plant will also self-sow if happy and can be a bit of a nuisance (but such a lovely one).

Â© 2007 Douglas Green |