Bleeding Heart
BLEEDING HEART (Dicentra spectabilis)
A native of Japan, this beautiful delicate perennial produces arching branches with sprays of dangling heart-shaped flowers that are pink with white tips or solid white. The plant will bloom in the spring through summer and once established is relatively trouble-free. Bleeding heart is hardy to zone 3 -9 and will tolerate the cold winters in Northern states.

Care
Bleeding heart can be planted in the spring or fall in moist, rich, well-drained soil and in semi-shade to shade. Plant it in an area where is gets direct sun early in the day and avoid the midday full sun, as that will cause the foliage to dieback prematurely. Maintain even moisture during the growing season. If needed place a layer of 1-2 inches of mulch around the plant away from the base to keep the soil evenly moist. When the hot summer sets in, the foliage will turn yellow, die back and go into summer dormancy.
Divide the plant in the spring every 5 years to reduce overcrowding and produce new plants. You can also divide in the fall after the foliage dies back. A mature plant will produce seeds making more give away plants.
Bleeding heart is relatively disease free except for wilt and stem rot caused by a fungus from growing in water-logged, wet soil.
All parts of this plant are poisonous.
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I have 3 huge bleeding heart plants on the side of my house that overgrown. If I cut them back, seperate them and transplant them elsewhere will the plants be smaller when they grow back the next year? When I dug on to share the plant it was all roots. can I take the roots cut them, plant them and have a full bloom the following year?
I planted red and pink bleeding hearts last year and they came up white this year,do you know why
I’m trying to plant Bleeding Heart “bulbs”. They look like dried up roots. I can’t tell “up from down!”. Any clues?
Roots
I just bought a bleeding heart and it looks like an octopus. Are the octopus legs the roots, do they go down in the dirt, or are they the branches. Confused!!
I would like to know if I put a Bleeding Heart in a large pot, will it do well?
my bleeding heart is yellowing what can I do?
I’m trying to start a bleeding heart root in a terra cotta pot, unfortunately, I buried the whole root and did not leave the crown above the soil. Will it even grow now? It has only been in the pot a few days. Also, if I do leave it in the pot as is, how moist should the root be before it comes up?
I HAVE A BLEEDING HEART PLANT AND
IT WAS COMING ALONG GOOD UNTIL THE
FROST GOT TO IT. DO I CUT IT BACK, AND
WILL IT GROW THIS YEAR?
THANK YOU DEBBIE
What can I co-plant with my bleeding hearts that will come up when the plants die down in the summer?
Can a bleeding heart be divided in spring once leaves are already up?
thanks!
I MOVED INTO A HOUSE THAT HAS A BLEEDING HEART THAT NOW( MID MAY) IS IN FULL BLOOM IT IS ABOUT 2 FEET TALL AND 3 FEET ROUND, WHAT IS DIVIDING? IT HAS TAKEN OVER THE AREA WHERE PLANTED AND I WOULD LIKE TO SPREAD IT AROUND I KNOW PRUNING WONT WORK SINCE IT DIED DOWN LAST YEAR AND COMES BACK BIGGER EACH YEAR
THANKS
M
Every time I try to transplant a piece of bleeding heart it dies. What am I doing wrong.
I just recently bought a bleeding heart with the fern like leaves and it was doing okay and now it looks like it has shrunk and is drying up. I need help because I don’t want to loose another one. Please help!
Thanks a bunch,
Cindy from KY>
My bleeding hearts are huge plants and though gradually yellowing, not dying back very quickly. The hostas and astilbe around them are somewhat buried by the foliage. Would it be OK to trim the bleeding heart foliage enough to get them more light?
I planted a white bleeding heart about 3 or 4 years ago. It always comes up, and grows bigger each year but has never had many blooms. Any suggestions? I live in Seattle and the plant gets very early morning sun and very late (6-8 pm) afternoon/evening sun. I have hostas, hardy fuschia, salamons seal, columbine, toad lilies, fox glove, and monks hood in the same garden. All do well.
I have 2 bleeding heart bulbs to plant and they just look like dried up roots. I can’t tell where the crown is. Help!
I live in RI and have a Bleeding Heart that is a georgous plant and the mother of many plants handed to many family and friends. We cut it back each yr when the leaves turn yellow and it comes back bigger and better each time. This past winter I brought home a piece of my mothers that came from FL. It’s different in that it has a more woody stem. I have planted it in a large pot and it has grown well all summer but I am not sure how to treat it for the winter. Since this plant came from FL and does not die back after flowering I don’t know if I should plant it in the ground and hope it makes it during our hard winters or should I bring it in the house or maybe our root cellar?
I just recently found a small bleeding heart plant in an old flower bed beside my new house. I want to get it out of there and put it in a pot. How should I go about transplanting it?
HI,
Someone gave me a large cutting of a bleeding heart as a gift. It of course was already in full bloom. Right now it is sitting in water. Can I put it in the ground?
Thanks, Cyndi
I purchased a white bleeding heart from a local nursery a couple of weeks ago and planted on north facing side of house with hostas. I’m zone 7, but I think it might be a little too early for yellowing/dieback for summer…it’s only the end of May!? HELP! This plant looks like it’s about shrivel up into nothing!
I HAVE A BLEEDINGHEART THAT HAS TURNED YELLOW AND IS HAS VERY LONG STEMS WITH VERY LITTLE FLOWERS.AAAI STARTED OUT THE WAY IT SHOULD AND THEN WENT TO THIS DISCRIPTION
i planted two bleeding hearts this year, they had a few blooms on them, but they faded to a very light pale pink. and the one that is in more sun had completely lost its blooms. the other in more shade seems to be getting a new branch of blooms. I am afraid my soil is not the best it has a lot of little pebbles in it. Also could you explain even moisture i am just watering it the same as all my other plants and flowers.
I have 2 Bleeding heart plants that look very healthy but no flowers.What do you suggest?
I live on Cape Cod. Should winter care of the Bleeding heart include, cutting back, & covering with burlap and straw.
I prefer not to dig it up.
Thank you
Can you bring a bleeding heart inside for the winter? I have it in a pot on my porch.
Planting bleeding heart roots
Hi, I have just purchased three packets of dicentra (bleeding heart) apparently they are fleshy roots. I need help to plant them so that they do not die.I purchased potting mix and have the perfect spot for them in my garden but i am now worried after all these comments that I am going to stuff this help, please help
Dividing bleeding heart
My bleeding heart has become woody at the bottom and very top heavy with leaves at the top. I have never cut it back. What is the rule on cutting the back? When? and how far back should they be cut?
i PLANTED 2 foot pants last spring. The vines grew over 12 feet and my wall is completely covered in vines that have gone through a north Texas winter and are brown. Do I trim them back, they completelely covered a trellis and wall. It was beautiful all season and I do not want to trim back if new growth will come from the existing brown vines
Only one problem, my plant never dies back nor does it stop flowering. Therefore, I don’t know when or if I should trim it back. It is growing on a trellis and is nothing but wood at the bottom and top heavy. It did receive some frost damage at the top this winter.
Can I trim it back?
Hi, I just planted two dried roots of bleeding heart in a 10-inch pot yesterday. Is the pot too small for 2 roots? Many thanks!
Thanks for the earlier reply.
I’ve planted the roots for about 2 weeks, but nothing comes up yet.
Is this normal? How lond does it take for the root to develop? (I am in Texas).
Thanks again!!
It may be waiting for the weather to warm up.
I just bought 3 bleeding hearts roots or bulbs but it is too soon to plant them, how should I store them?
I have a piece of bleeding heart plant that broke off of my mother-in-laws plant.I was wondering how i could root it so that i could plant it or if i could plant it without the roots and would it grow.What should it do?
Is this a vine?
I planted 10 bleeding hearts in my yard about 2 weeks ago. I live in North Ga. It has been relatively warm. around the 60’s and they still haven’t come up. I planted some Glads also the same day, and they have already come up. Should they have already came up?
Are bleeding hearts plants or shrubs?
We had bleeding hearts in the yard last summer when we moved in. After we raked a lot in the Fall, I noticed the bleeding hearts were gone (after they died). Will they keep coming up on their own each season?
Thank you for all the above suggestions. Previewing the questions asked has covered what I needed to know. I appreciate your site.
Thanks again
I live in Massachusetts. As most people may know, we sometimes get harsh winters. I planted my bleeding hearts in front of my house, about 2 feet from the road. Will they survive there or will all the snow and chemicals that get plowed from the street kill them? This is the first time I am planting something here and the plants are fairly new. They are about 1 foot in height. Should I move them inside in the winter?
Planting bleeding heart roots
I bought 2 bleeding heart roots. I m not sure which way to plant them… on one side there are white things coming out. I think it may be the roots but im not sure.. can you help?
I planted a bleeding heart on the south facing side of our new house in 2005 (located in MN). I’ve read that it’s normal for the plant to flower, yellow and die back..such is the normal cycle. Thing is, in my plant’s case, it had reached maturity and full bloom by the first week of May this year. It’s only May 15 and while most other bleeding hearts are only 10″ tall now at relatives homes, mine is already beginnning to yellow and die back. So, my question to you is how soon can I dig it up and move it. Obviously it’s in a too sunny spot and needs to be placed elsewhere. I’m concerned about damaging the root system, so how do I dig it up and when could I?
unsure how to plant bleeding heart root which way is which?
one end has 4-5 long tubular lite whiteish yellow and fleshy i dont know if this is the stem or the roots.the other end shortlittle root looking thing growing from it..please help
i have a beatiful potted bleeding heart. Last winter I wasn’t sure what to do with it so i stuck it in our shed. I brought it out a few weeks ago and I’m thrilled to see it is growing foliage! My question is how early could I have brought it our from the shed? we live in ohio zone 6. All of our neighbor’s bleeding hearts are already blooming. Thanks for your help!
My Bleeding heart flowers have already fallen and the leaves on one of the plants are starting to turn yellow. it is only May 27 and I thought the flowers would last further into summer, which is what they did last year. could too much rain or cold nights have caused this?
I planted two bleeding hearts this year. One gets just a little bit more shade than the other – not much though. The only that is getting the shade is doing very well. The other one is turning yellow and looks like it is going to die. Should I replant the yellowing one?
This is the second year for my bleeding hearts plant. The overall plant is growing and looking healthy but there are not a lot of buds and flowers. It looks sparce. Do they need a lot of fertilizer?
my bleeding hearts did not flower this spring and plant turned yellow by mid june. Lives in mostly shade and is well watered by sprinkler system. What am I doing wrong?
Can I transplant my bleeding heart plant now without hurting it? It’s a big plant and is till green Thanks
I have a bleeding heart, which has a northeast exposure. It gets morning sun and has bloomed beaufifully last late spring/early summer and this late spring/early summer. Both last year and this year after the blooms are gone, the entire plant turns yellow. Last summer I cut the plant down right away. I haven’t done that yet and I’m not sure what I should do. I see other bleeding hearts in my neighborhood and the plants remain green all summer. Please let me know what the problem might be and how to correct it.
I have two bleeeding heart plants that I started from a bulb I have had them for two years and have never pruned them or cut them back. One of them is so very BIG it is overtaking. When and how is the best time to try get another plant out of them and will it do ok? The wind broke stems off it last year and it still came back bigger in size than last year. can I divide is now a good time….I’d like to start another plant but not sure the best way to go about it….but it is HUGE! Any help would be appreciated.
I live in the Buffalo NY area. I have lots of baby bleeding hearts. Can I pot them now, in August, to hold over the winter?
I have my first bleeding heart plant and i need to know if i am supposed to cut it down and how low before winter hits.
I have a Bleeding Heart and I was wondering if I am able to take a cutting of it and root it?
I planted a pink bleeding heart plant several several years ago and it blooms every year but it never got any larger or fuller than when I first planted it. The plant gets about 15 inches tall and consistantly has six stems every year. I have seen them in other areas and they look like bushes and are twice as tall as mine.
Bleeding Heart vine
I have a very large plant with a 3 x 5 dark green flat, sorta heart shaped leaf. The bloom is white with five petals and deep red bloom in the middle. I bought the plant as a Bleeding Heart 20 years ago. The plant is in a large clay pot that winters in a heated room. I need to know when and how to prune it and also what is it. I know you like these types of questions!
Thank you