Bleeding Heart

Dicentra spectabilis

About the Bleeding Heart

The bleeding heart is a herbaceous perennial and its native to woodlands. The flowering season for this plant is May-August. The color of the flowers are pink, red and white and they resemble a heart with "drops of blood" at the bottom and it has a fernlike foliage. The plant reaches 2-3 ft in height and the spread is about the same. These plants will grow in the climate ranges of 3-9.

Planting

This plant is a shade loving plant and it looks great in shade gardens. It takes this plant two years for it to mature but when it does, its beautiful! The soil needs to be well drained and rich in organic matter. The pH needs to be somewhere between 6.0-7.5 for it to grow properly.

Caring

Caring for this plant is very easy. They will last for years if you take care of the roots. There is no serious insect or disease problem for the Bleeding Heart. If you keep the roots in clean soil then you will prevent stem rot. You will need to divide the plant every 3-4 years and it is best when divided in the spring. But be very gentel with this plant because it is extremely brittle.

References

http://www.mrgrow.com/plant/may.htm

http://landscaping.about.com/od/perennialflowers/p/bleeding_hearts.htm

http://www.webindia123.com/garden/flowers/blheart.htm