Bleeding heart

It's easy to see the origin of bleeding heart's common name when you get a look at its heart-shaped pink or white blooms with a protruding tip at the base of the heart. They grow best in partial to full shade in moist, well-drained soil. Some types bloom only in spring and others bloom spring, summer, and fall, provided temperatures aren't too high.

Light:

Part Sun, Shade

Zones:

3-9

Plant Type:

Perennial

Plant Width:

1-3 feet wide

Landscape Uses:

Containers, Beds & Borders

Special Features:

Flowers, Attractive Foliage, Cut Flowers, Deer Resistant, Easy to Grow

Top Varieties

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Fringed bleeding heart

(Dicentra eximia) has deeply cut, blue-green foliage and pink blooms rising to 1 foot tall. It reblooms through summer and fall as long as temperatures are not excessively hot. It is native to the eastern U.S. Zones 4-8
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Gold Heart bleeding heart

(Dicentra spectabilis 'Gold Heart') offers a dramatic color combination. It pairs chartreuse foliage with pink blooms to stunning effect. Zones 3-9
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King of Hearts bleeding heart

(Dicentra 'King of Hearts') produces a mound of blue-green foliage 6 to 8 inches tall and masses of pink blooms in spring and again in late summer and fall. Zones 4-8
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Langtrees bleeding heart

(Dicentra formosa 'Langtrees') is a white form with ferny blue-green leaves. Like fringed bleeding heart, it blooms nearly continuously if weather conditions remain cool. Zones 4-8
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Old-fashioned bleeding heart

(Dicentra spectabilis) is a 2- to 3-foot-tall springtime bloomer with long arching branches of dangling heart-shaped blooms. It usually goes dormant in summer, so pair it with a plant that will fill in its space later in the year. Zones 3-9
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White old-fashioned bleeding heart

(Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba') has the same qualities as regular old-fashioned bleeding heart except its flowers are pure white. Zones 3-9
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