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Few garden perennials have flowers as bizarre or beautiful as bleeding hearts. Nearly all gardeners recognize them. While the common bleeding heart is essentially a late spring bloomer, the dwarf species and hybrids bloom all season long, a feature rare among garden flowers. Read on to learn more about these wonderful exotic flowers.
For many gardeners, one of the most elegant garden perennials is bleeding heart, Dicentra spectabilis. Even the species epithet says it all...spectacular! This Japanese native created quite a stir in Europe when first discovered since at the time, no other garden plants had such bizarre yet beautiful flowers. The arching racemes of pink, distinctly heart-shaped flowers are unmistakable. For those who have never grown bleeding heart, the early spring growth is also bright pink! The summer foliage is mat grey-green and quite fern-like on large mounding plants to 4 feet. Flowers are produced over a long period from late spring through to early summer. Add to this the inherent hardiness (zone 4), ease of propagation and culture, it is not surprising that this plant gained celebrity status overnight. This most exotic of flowers is now a standard perennial in many gardens throughout the temperate zones. Once quite rare but now readily available is the less vigorous white form called ‘Alba' or ‘Pantaloons'. However, the most spectacular of all is ‘Gold Heart' whose foliage is brilliant golden-yellow! The contrast between foliage and flower is striking. Bleeding heart does have one main drawback: the plants go summer dormant so you may be left with quite a large gap when the plants go dormant in mid-late summer, so plan accordingly.
Dicentra spectabilis 'Gold Heart' and 'Alba'
The next bleeding heart to capture the attention of gardeners were the two dwarf bleeding hearts of North America; D. eximia in the east and D. formosa in the west. These two species, while not as showy as the Japanese species, have two features in their favour; plants do not go dormant in summer and they are essentially ever-blooming from spring through fall. Their growth is so vigorous that they also make admirable ground-covers in shady areas. The two species are quite similar but formosa is the more floriferous and larger-flowered of the two with more selections available on the market. Dicentra eximia has narrow, light pink flowers and pale green foliage on plants about 12" tall. White forms called ‘Snowdrift' and 'Alba' also exist. Dicentra formosa has mid-pink, broader flowers and grey-green to blue-green foliage on plants 12-18" tall. ‘Bacchanal' is perhaps the most popular selection with grey-green foliage and wine-red flowers. ‘Aurora' is a white-flowered selection.
Close-up to show the difference in the bloom shape between D. eximia (left) and D. formosa (right)
There are several hybrid dwarf bleeding hearts on the market. They are hybrids involving D. eximia, D. formosa and the Himalayan D. peregrina, itself a difficult to grow, very dwarf species. Thankfully the hybrids are generally easy care. ‘Luxuriant', a cross between D. eximia and D. formosa, has very blue foliage, medium pink flowers and grows about 12-18" tall. ‘Zestful' is quite similar but has deeper reddish-pink flowers. Other hybrids include ‘Langtrees' (pale pink), ‘Silver Smith' (white with pink tint, green foliage), ‘Pearl Drops' (white with pink tint, blue-green foliage), ‘Adrian Bloom' (reddish-pink, blue-green foliage), ‘Bountiful' (pinkish purple, green foliage), ‘Margery Fish' (white, blue-green foliage), ‘Sweetheart' (white, green foliage), ‘Snowflakes' (creamy-white, green foliage) and ‘Stuart Boothman' (mottled pink, green foliage).
Some dwarf bleeding heart sepections and hybrids; left to right are 'Luxuriant', D. eximia 'Alba' and 'Langtrees'
‘Candy Hearts' is a smaller hybrid between D. eximia and D. peregrina. The foliage is also quite blue and the flowers darker pink than ‘Luxuriant' on plants 8-10" tall. The white-flowered version is called ‘Ivory Hearts'. ‘King of Hearts' is smaller again with dark pinkish-red flowers. It has all three of the dwarf bleeding hearts in its ancestry.
Among the most dwarf bleeding hearts are 'Ivory Hearts' and 'King of Hearts'
To a lesser degree, gardeners also grow the squirrelcorn, D. canadensis and dutchman's breeches, D. cucullaria, both which are native to eastern North America. Both bloom in mid-spring with similar-looking white flowers. Plants go dormant and disappear soon after flowering. While exquisite beauties, they are essentially fleeting flowers for the woodland garden.
Dicentra canadensis and D. cucullaria
Dicentra are primarily woodland plants hardy in zones 4-8. They prefer lightly shaded, evenly moist and fairly rich soil to look their best. They have brittle roots and rhizomes but it seems that as long as a piece of rhizome has an active growing point, they will regenerate into a new plant. The standard bleeding heart is best divided in late summer but the dwarf species and hybrids are so tough, they can be divided any time of the year, although early spring or late summer are best. If good soil moisture is maintained, they can tolerate full sun, but part-shade is where they thrive best. They can also tolerate deep shade but the flowering will be scarce. All have fragile stems and leaves, so avoid windy sites and as they start growth early in the season, avoid frost pockets too.
If you have a suitable site, you should definitely grow at least one of the bleeding heart species or hybrids. Their bizarre yet beautiful flowers are not like anything else you can grow in your garden. They are certainly among the most ‘exotic' plants that temperate zone gardeners can grow.
I would like to thank the following people for the use of their images: irmaly -Dicentra spectabilis 'Gold Heart': kniphofia - Dicentra spectabilis 'Gold Heart' and 'Alba': sanannie - Dicentra 'Luxuriant' and D. eximia 'Alba' and mygardens - Dicentra cucullaria
About Todd Boland
I reside in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. I work as a research horticulturist at the Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden. I am one of the founding members of the Newfoundland Wildflower Society and the current chair of the Newfoundland Rock Garden Society. My garden is quite small but I pack it tight! Outdoors I grow mostly alpines, bulbs and ericaceous shrubs. Indoors, my passion is orchids. When not in the garden, I'm out bird watching, a hobby that has gotten me to some lovely parts of the world.
Posted by shekinahgarden (from Brentwood, TN) on June 9, 2008 at 11:25 PM:
Great article!! I planted these in a rather small container this spring. They bloomed well for a new plant; but, after looking at your pictures, I may need to put them in the ground. Problem is.... Nashville clay will need lots of amending. Anyone successfully grew these in pots?
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Posted by Todd_Boland (from St. John's, NL) on June 10, 2008 at 12:46 PM:
I would think the dwarf ones would work fine.
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Subject: Luxuriant Bleeding Heart Trouble
Posted by UnluckyGardener (from Carlisle, IA) on May 23, 2008 at 10:02 PM:
I have planted several luxuriant bleeding hearts and everytime they die out after the first year. I have planted in several different places - part sun, part shade, shade. I live in zone 5 near Des Moines, Iowa. What am I doing wrong?
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Subject: How Different?
Posted by Cosmobetty (from Wichita, KS) on May 17, 2008 at 2:23 PM:
Does anyone know how to tell the difference between Daylilies, iris',and Daffidills by their leaves?
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Posted by adoresaiken (from Clemmons, NC) on May 19, 2008 at 7:43 PM:
I know by sight, but I am not sure I can explain.
Daffodill greenery has more of a rounded "leaf", Iris greenery is usually "fan" shaped and thin pointed "leaves", Daylilly greenery is kind of in-between the others, meaning thicker than Iris, and not round like Daffodil, but tall and willowy, kind of bending over in a graceful curve.
Right now, Daffodil greenery will be turning yellow or brown and lose it's upright habit. Iris have quit blooming in my area also, but the greenery is still standing tall but beginning to look faded. Daylilies have not yet bloomed, so the greenery will be tall and vibrant looking.
I hope this helped!
Pat
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Posted by Cosmobetty (from Wichita, KS) on May 20, 2008 at 10:58 PM:
Thank you so much for answering me. I was beginning to think I didnt do the thread thing right. I think I understand what you're saying. I'm going to plant the ones I think are daylilies with my other ones. What can I loose. They are from my mom's yard and we're selling her house. Shes in a carehome. Do the daylilies have a bulb or are there a lot of radash looking things at roots?
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Posted by adoresaiken (from Clemmons, NC) on May 28, 2008 at 9:49 PM:
cosmobetty,
There is no bulb, but the roots do have little "knobby" things!
Pat
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Subject: I didn't know...
Posted by nanny_56 (from Putnam County, IN) on May 15, 2008 at 6:50 PM:
that there are dwarf varities! I have wanted one but never had the room. A dwarf or two would work wonderfully. Will have to look around for some!
Thanks for a very informative article and teaching me something new today!
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Subject: Is it proper to trim Star Magnolia Bush? And when??? _ Af
Posted by baurer (from Princeville, IL) on May 15, 2008 at 2:22 PM:
We have a mature Star Magnolia Bush and it bloomed beautiful this spring. But, it is getting big - can I trim it and when???
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Posted by Todd_Boland (from St. John's, NL) on May 25, 2008 at 7:32 PM:
Right after flowering is perfect!
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Subject: A touch of zone envy
Posted by JaxFlaGardener (from Jacksonville, FL) on May 15, 2008 at 11:30 AM:
Zone envy usually is extended from persons living in colder climates to those of us that can grow tropical plants outdoors. In this case, I would love to have a Dicentra spectabile, but they really don't seem to tolerate our hot, humid summers in zone 8b/9a NE Florida (along with peonies, lilacs, and some other things I would love to grow). D. exima is supposed to grow in 9a, but I've not yet had a chance to try one. I ordered one from a catalog once, only to be shipped D. spectabile as an out-of-stock substitution. The D. spectabile made an attempt to grow during the cool, dry spring, but quickly succumbed to the heat. I may look into some of the dwarf varieties of Dicentra to see if any of them have more heat tolerance. Thanks for the great article that let me know that just maybe I can have a Bleeding Heart someday!
Jeremy
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on May 15, 2008 at 2:26 PM:
Oh, Jeremy, I personally think Zone Envy can go in any direction! And now, thanks to Todd, I have to reconsider - have the town cut down the nasty maple tree that's killing all my sun-loving plants, or convert it to a woodland, with Dicentra, Columbine and little bulbs. Thank you, Todd. I'll need to think more about the Dicentras now!
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Posted by joegee (from Bucyrus, OH) on May 15, 2008 at 4:20 PM:
I have d. spectabile, it really is a spectacular plant. Jeremy, I wish we could just swap square yards of garden space, so I could have maybe three square yards of your zone 9, and you could have three square yards of my zone 5-6. :)
Posted by JaxFlaGardener (from Jacksonville, FL) on May 15, 2008 at 5:00 PM:
Hi, Joe. I would be happy to trade a few square yards of subtropical landscape for the opportunity to have some Zone 6a tulips, D. spectabile, lilacs and peonies. Maybe we should just arrange a house swap every few months so we have the best of both worlds? LOL
Thanks greatly for the tip on Dicentra scandens! Wow! A heat tolerant Bleeding Heart that is a vine and yellow to boot! The Plant Files notes say it takes more sun than the other Dicentra. I have the perfect spot for it on a 10 foot wire wall I constructed last year from concrete reinforcement grid I fished out of a dumpster at a construction site to revamp I-95 a few blocks from my house. After years of searching, I recently finally received a Blue Shrimp Plant (Cerinthe major) seedling from a Florida DG friend, so now I can make my holy grail the Dicentra scandens for future plant searches.
Jeremy
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Subject: Beautiful!
Posted by melody (from Benton, KY) on May 15, 2008 at 9:38 AM:
I never knew there were so many. Just wish that I had the shade necessary to grow them.
Thanks for the great article!
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Posted by McGlory (from Southeast, NE) on May 15, 2008 at 10:14 AM:
Thanks for a great article, Todd. I just planted a few 'King of Hearts' and was a little nervous about them. I'll relax now. Lovely photos too! Thank you for the detailed info.
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Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on May 15, 2008 at 1:41 PM:
Being someone who has way too much shade to deal with, I sure appreciate knowing about all these choices--I didn't know there were so many. Thanks from a woodland gardener!
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Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on May 15, 2008 at 3:27 PM:
Great article, thank you.
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Posted by adoresaiken (from Clemmons, NC) on May 19, 2008 at 7:49 PM:
I have lots of shade and have some Bleeding Hearts. Now I want some of the ones that bloom all summer! That would certainly bring new life back to my shady areas after my Bleeding Hearts go dormant!
Thanks for the info!
Pat
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Subject: so many bleeding hearts, so little time!
Posted by Kathleen (from Panama, NY) on May 15, 2008 at 7:12 AM:
Thank you for a great article.
We have squirrel corn back in the woods in bloom right now. I have D exima that has taken over the entire wildflower garden and is being moved piece by piece. I also have a D. spectabilis, they are a requisite for any good farm house garden. Even my grandmother who wasn't really much of a gardener had one that grew quite lush and large. I have killed more of the D. spect. alba than I care to admit to and have given it up as a bad job.
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Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on May 15, 2008 at 9:34 AM:
Todd, they are all beautiful and I have yet to acquire one. I got seeds for D. eximia in a trade this year and managed to get one plant going. My neighbor has a beautiful pink one in bloom now... don't know the species. I really need to get on this.
Thanks for the great pics & info. Well done. jan
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Posted by darius (from Marion, VA) on May 15, 2008 at 11:51 AM:
Oh, Thank you! I am SO excited to have all this information on bleeding hearts in one place. I love them, and usually manage to get one growing well just in time for me to move again. Now I have a handy list with photos to carry!
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Posted by pajaritomt (from Los Alamos, NM) on May 15, 2008 at 3:30 PM:
Thanks for this lovely article on Bleeding Hearts. I have never been able to grow them, but I bet I never gave them rich enough soil or a shady enough spot. I am going to try again. I have always loved them and have, sadly, killed several.
