Plant Type

Perennial

 

Height Range

1-3'

 

Flower Color

Pink, White, Multi-Colored

 

Flower Season

Spring

 

Leaf Color

Green, Blue Green

 

Bark Color

n/a

 

Fruit Color

n/a

 

Fruit Season

n/a

Sun

Half, Shade

 

Water

Medium, High

 

Growth Rate

Moderate

 

Soil Type

Clay, Loam

 

Soil Condition

Average, Rich, Well-drained, Moist

 

Soil pH

Neutral

 

Adverse Factors

n/a

Design Styles

English Cottage, Woodland

 

Accenting Features

Showy Flowers

 

Seasonal Interest

Spring

 

Location Uses

Background, Perennial Border

 

Special Uses

Cut Flowers

 

Attracts Wildlife

n/a

Bleeding heart is an old-fashioned garden perennial with mounds of deeply lobed foliage and arching stems hung with pink and white heart-shaped flowers. Blooms appear April and May, and the plant may reach 2 to 3 feet in height with the flowers. Width is about 20 to 30 inches. Plant it where it will be disguised in the summer months, as the foliage typically goes dormant; shade-loving perennial grasses, late leafing shrubs, or shady annuals are a good choice.

Grow in well drained, loamy soil in part to full shade. Doesn't tolerate dry sites as well as the other species. In our region, in the heat of the summer it tends to go dormant and the foliage goes yellow; snip it off and mulch around the base. Sometimes, in a long fall, it will re-emerge and even flower again, but generally, you just wait until the next spring, just like the tulips and daffodils.