Great Design Plant: Western Bleeding Heart

Botanical name: Dicentra formosa
Common names: Western bleeding heart, Pacific bleeding heart
USDA zones: 4 to 8 (find your zone)
Origin: Native to moist woodlands of the Pacific Northwest, from British Columbia to California
Water requirement: Prefers moist, fertile soil but is surprisingly drought tolerant in summer months
Light requirement: Dappled light; morning sun with afternoon shade
Mature size: 12 inches tall and wide (although it does spread)
Benefits and tolerances: Hummingbirds love it but deer leave it alone (two excellent reasons to include it in your garden).
Seasonal interest: Flowers in late spring
When to plant: As the foliage begins to go dormant in late summer or when new shoots begin to appear in early spring

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Distinguishing traits. Delicate blue-green ferny foliage forms a soft carpet beneath the arching stems of dusky-pink heart-shaped flowers.

Despite appearances, this native bleeding heart is tough.

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by Le jardinet

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How to use it. Western bleeding heart is perfect for the dappled shade of a woodland garden, perhaps clustered around the base of a mossy tree stump or boulder. Or plant it en masse to form a ground cover.

This spring perennial also looks right at home along shady stream banks, providing the soil does not become saturated.

Planting notes. Western bleeding heart spreads easily by rhizomes and seeds, so you can set plants some distance apart and quickly get good coverage. To propagate, divide the plants in early spring as the shoots emerge but before flowering.

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Ornamental species and cultivars. The most popular of these is Dicentra spectabilis, shown here. It is a larger perennial, growing to 3 feet by 3 feet, and its flowers are a bright pink.

There is also a white-flowered cultivar (D. spectabilis 'Alba') and a golden-leaved one with pink flowers called 'Gold Heart' (D. spectabilis 'Gold Heart').

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Comments

Jean Corey I love these sweet little flowers, they so fit their name. They are such a delight to have in a garden.

3 months ago · Like ·

appytrails Many bleeding hearts die back in the heat of the summer, so it's a good idea to plant other shade loving perennials (or annuals) close by to fill in the gap.

3 months ago · Like ·

Sherri Fitzgerald Lovely article! Thanks for sharing it! ....I love bleeding hearts and always keep both types in my garden! If you have a little girl in your garden show them this....take one flower from the ornimental species...turn it upside down and gently pull out on the pink side petals... you get a ballerina in a pink gown!! Now you also may not have any more flowers!! But the smile on the little girls faces is worth it!! Every little girl in the neighborhood comes by my garden for a ballerina in the spring!!
More pics of my gardens at.............