I love old-fashioned bleeding hearts (Dicentra spectabilis). I have three of them that descended from a plant that grew in my grandma’s yard, and each year they get taller and more beautiful.
The flowers bloom just when you need some pizazz in the garden—-after the tulips and daffodils are finished for the season but before the summer perennials and annuals kick into gear. The show lasts for about 3 to 4 weeks, but when the heat of summer arrives, the plants go dormant.
If you want a bleeding heart that blooms from spring until frost, try fringed bleeding heart ‘Luxuriant’ (Dicentra formosa). It grows 12 to 18 inches tall in partial shade and can even handle sunny conditions if it’s well-watered. The flowers aren’t charming like the little hearts dangling from the stems of an old fashioned bleeding heart, but they’re colorful and appear all summer long. Even the plant’s foliage is attractive.
