Bleeding Hearts Put On A Show In The Shade

For a spectacular show of color in shady areas, May or early June, plant old fashioned bleeding heart (Dicentra Spectabilis).
Rosy red, heart-shaped blossoms, tipped in white, dangle gracefully from arched stems on 2 1/2 - 3 ft. plants amid blue green foliage.
Where fall frosts come late, roots of this plant can be planted now, to become established before the soil freezes. They’ll be off to an early start next spring. Otherwise plant the roots next spring as soon as the soil can be worked.
Early fall is a good time to dig up clumps of dormant roots on over crowded bleeding heart plants, to be separated and replanted.
Handle these roots gently to avoid damage as they are very brittle. Cut them apart with an eye on each.
Because these plants dislike being moved, be sure they are overcrowded before you do so.
Purchase new roots at a local garden center or order them from a nursery catalog.
Select a planting area in a corner of your yard where sunlight filters through the tree branches.
Get your new planting off to a good start by digging a hole 12 inches square and as deep for each root. Fill it with a mixture of one half compost or peat moss to one part good loam and one part coarse builders sand. Add a few handfuls of bone meal. Plant roots in this mixture and mark the area so you can locate it easily in the spring.
Mulch a new planting after the soil is frozen so winter frost heaves won’t work roots out of the soil.
After flowering, the foliage on a bleeding heart plant withers and dies down. Remove it promptly. Mark the area with a stake, as mentioned above.
When new growth shows, in the spring, fertilize with well rotted cow manure, fish emulsion or other organic plant food.
Be sure the plant gets water as needed, if the season is dry.
There are some 15 species of bleeding heart plants in Asia and North America, among which are:
White bleeding hear (D. spectabilis alba), White heart shaped blossoms on graceful arches, May or early June. Plants with blue green foliage grow up to 30 inches tall.
Perpetual flowering bleeding heart (D. Luxuriant). Cherry red blossoms open from April until early fall. Fern like, blue green foliage. Grows in partial sunshine or light shade.
You may find some plants of the Dicentra genus growing as wild flowers in woodlands. Do not disturb them as they are part of our natural environment.
Dutchman’s breeches (D. cucullaria) is a wild species that grows to 10 inches tall, with pale green leaves. It’s sometimes called fairy eardrops. White-to-pinkish flowers have two trouser like spurs. It blossoms late April to early May. Squirrel corn (D. canadensis) is another wild species with leaves that resemble Dutchman’s breeches. It grows elongated heart shaped, cream colored flowers.