Dicentra spectabilis bleeding heart

Bleeding heart is a bit old-fashioned yet beautiful perennial commonly found in European gardens. It comes from Siberia and colder parts of China and Korea. The Japanese legend has it that the common name implies a young man whose love for a lady was rejected so he pierced his heart with a sword (the inner part of the flower) which caused his heart bleed. Much nicer name is a lady in the bath which is not really a name of the plant itself but more a description of the flower shape. Here’s the trick – hold the fully opened flower upside down and voilá – here it is – a white lady in a pink bath.

Bleeding heart flowers from late May until late June. The heart-shaped flowers are rich pink with white inner petals and release a faint but interesting fragrance. They are borne on arching stems and the whole plant looks so robust and shrubby that it is difficult to believe that this is a perennial that will soon, a few weeks after flowering, loose most of its leaves and stems as it goes dormant until the next year. The leaves are 20-40 cm long, divided and lobed, and resemble those of tree peonies.

Bleeding heart will grow in almost any constantly moist garden soil. It does not need full sun but if grown in full sun it requires some extra watering. It will thrive in humus-rich, neutral to slightly alkaline soil. Fertilizing is advised in poor soils in spring when flowering stems are being formed. All parts are slightly toxic and may cause allergies. It is fully hardy to min. -34°C (USDA zone 4) but allegedly takes much deeper frost (down to zone 3 or even 2).

Last update 16-01-2014