Bleeding hearts add romance to garden

They are ephemeral, blooming for a time in spring before the onset of summer heat. Their foliage is fern-like, wispy and fragile. With the dog days of summer they may die back entirely to wait out the dry season before winter.

Delicates hide amid the ferns. They are found in little-used corners under trees. Such gems are surprises in the garden. They persist year after year to create more fairy blooms each season.

The bleeding heart of gardens is "Dicentra spectabilis," but there are others closely related that are native to our soil. These wild bleeding hearts can be found across America. They prefer to grow where there is even moisture with many dying back at midsummer.

Among them is Dicentra cucullaria, known as Dutchman's breeches and found throughout most of the eastern states. Rather than heart-shaped blossoms they resemble pantaloons.

The more commonly grown wild species includes Dicentra eximia from the middle Atlantic states.

On the opposite coast grows the western bleeding heart, Dicentra formosa. The species is found in forests of the Pacific Coast states from Canada south into California. In its southern, drier range it can be found sprouting out of cliff bases above river canyons, where it thrives off water running deep in fissures of the rock. Plants may all but disappear as this seasonal runoff dries up in the summer.

European breeders have crossed our two native species to produce excellent garden varieties for light shade. Luxuriant is among the most famous and widely grown. Super cold-hardy, it survives to Zone 3. It was one of the first plants ever patented. It can be relied on to bloom from mid-spring to mid-summer if you keep them adequately moist and pick spent flowers promptly after they fade.

Other cultivars from this line include a half dozen white varieties to add diversity to these plantings.

Coldham features burgundy blossoms. A ruby red version is named Adrian Bloom, and a highly floriferous purple pink is called Bountiful. Plant these in the shade under tree canopies where they thrive in the acidic soils with plenty of organic matter and good drainage.


Don't waste your bleeding hearts in beds and borders far from outdoor living spaces. Plant these fairy flowers up close and personal - around patios, decks and in foundation plantings.

Let them carpet the ground under dogwoods, Japanese maples and saucer magnolia for an extraordinary spring show. And don't forget to press the blossoms in books to add kind hearts and flowers to your most beloved correspondence all year around.