Each puffy bloom has two rose-pink outer petals and two white inner petals, with a white stamen protruding from the bottom. The unique 1-2 inch long, delicate-looking pendant flowers are vaguely heart-shaped.

When the stems die back completely to the ground they can be pulled out and discarded. Cutting the plants back hard after flowering may delay senescence (as well as promote another flush of flowers). The leaves turn yellow and wither sooner in hotter or drier weather (but sometimes last through the season in cool, moist conditions). Although they are attractive when not in flower, the plants usually start to senesce by August and go dormant in the summer. The powdery-green leaves are divided into three leaflets. The reddish new foliage emerges from the ground in very early spring and plants grow quickly to be one of the first flowering perennials in the spring, combining nicely with tulips and Virginia bluebell ( Mertensia virginica).ĭicentra spectabilis begins to senesce in summer, unless it’s cool and moist. This herbaceous plant forms loose, bushy clumps up to 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide from brittle, fleshy roots. spectabilis emerges in early spring with red stems. Some other less-common common names for this plant include Chinese Pants, Lady’s Locket, Lyre Flower, Our-Lady-in-a-Boat, and Tearing Hearts.ĭ. It was introduced again after a Royal Horticultural Society plant exploration trip to the Far East in 1846, and soon it became a common garden plant. spectabilis was brought to England in 1810 but didn’t get established. This perennial in the fumitory family (Fumariaceae) is hardy in zones 2-8.ĭ. Dicentra spectabilis, native to eastern Asia (northern China, Korea and Japan), won’t start blooming until late spring. Valentine’s day brings hearts of all kinds but in the Midwest you have to wait a little longer for the popular garden ornamental known as common or old-fashioned bleeding heart to come into bloom. Bleeding Heart is a common garden ornamental.

Wild bleeding heart presque isle pa