Flower Focus: Bleeding Heart (Dicentra)
Dicentra spectabilis, commonly known as Bleeding Heart, has quickly become one of my favorite spring perennials. Its arching stems laden with dangling heart-shaped blooms may make this plant seem dainty and ephemeral, but it is actually a hardy garden workhorse. Plus it is deer resistant and relatively pest free. That makes it a must-have addition to the perennial shade border in my book.
It is ideally suited for the woodland garden and thrives in well-drained beds that get morning sun and afternoon shade. It looks great when planted with ferns, hostas and spring blooming perennials such as columbine, astilbe and alchemilla (Lady’s Mantle).
Dicentra can be grown by seed, but I prefer to propagate by dividing or taking cuttings from existing stock in the spring. I grow dicentra in the landscape as well as commercially in the cutting fields. I space them about 15 inches apart when I grow them as a specialty cut flower, but give them more room, about 3 to 5 feet, in the landscape garden as they can spread up to 3 feet wide. Mulch around the base of the plant is recommended to maintain even soil moisture and temperature.
The pink-blooming variety adds a nice pop of color in the late spring garden. There have been some recent new cultivars that offer distinctive foliage and flower colors. I particularly like ‘Goldenheart’ because of its chartreuse foliage.
At the flower farm I primarily grow the white blooming ‘Alba’ variety to use for weddings. It adds romantic whimsy to garden-inspired bouquets and arrangements. Stems can grow up to 18 inches and usually have 7 - 12 heart-shaped blooms per stems. Harvest when the first few blooms open. It is best to harvest early in the day when it is cooler and left to hydrate in water for 12 or more hours before designing with them. I have experienced vase life of about a week in fresh water; horticultural studies have noted longer vase life when a preservative is used.
Plants go dormant by late summer. I usually let the foliage yellow and die back before cutting the plant down to a couple of inches above the soil line. I cover them with a fresh layer of mulch and put them to bed until next spring.
