I hate to disappoint anyone. I was going to title this post with some of the quaintly descriptive names of Dicentra spectabilis, otherwise known by the tragically romantic moniker, "Old-Fashioned Bleeding Hearts". But then I remembered the unsavory search words that appeared in my referrals when I did a blog about appreciating and harvesting rose hips. It seems some people that like Big Hips aren't seeking out gardening advice.
I guess we've all had it happen. You look up "juicy fruit" and get more than apple trees and gum. You fancy raising poultry and google "baby chicks" and get a different type of scantily-clad bird.
I can see the reason for names like "Chinese Pants". Nonetheless, I can't wait for my bleeding hearts to bloom again so I can check if you really see a "Lady-in-the-Bath" when you turn the purse-shaped flower upside-down and pinch the puffy part.
Bleeding Hearts is an herbaceous perennial, hardy to zone 3, a beloved garden flower that comes back again and again, blooming faithfully in late spring.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY from THE GARDEN BUZZ!!!
However in Kansas I only had a nodding acquaintance with them. Like dainty women of yesteryear, they get the vapors at the slightest hint of hot summer-heat, their fern-like foliage going dormant and doing a disappearing-act. There they bloomed in those few weeks they call spring,( you can tell by the tornadoes). Then it was "quick, get me a fainting couch" and they were done.
In my northern garden, they are a much more prolonged presence; I can see why they are recommended as a long-lasting cut flower. Their only downfall, the hollowish brittle stems that fail to stand up to the watering hose, my own heart breaking every time I turned to see another fatality. Note to self: Plant them further back in the border. Although the chains of locket-like blossoms did look adorable dangling over the path.
A native to Asia and certain parts of North America, Bleeding Hearts does well in moist, humusy but well-drained soil and partial shade, making it the perfect flower for lighting up woodland plantings and shady spots. Plan for its annual leave-taking by pairing it with later emerging hostas, ferns and geraniums.
Consider also Dicentra spectabilis "Alba", this white version is a little less vigorous but deserves a place in the garden. Beyond these basic varieties:
- Candy Hearts, with longer flowering, stronger pink blooms
- Burning Hearts, almost red with a white outline
- Gold Heart, with lime/yellow foliage and reddish stems
- Fringed Bleeding Hearts, white fringed blooms with gray-green lacy foliage
- King of Hearts, prolific but sterile flowers
We sometimes pooh-pooh popular plants, thinking they are too easy. But sometimes easy is just what we need. And then there's the 1898 catalog description of Bleeding Hearts; "cheap, common but very charming". What will the search engine do with that?
