Bleeding heart varieties to grow

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Wednesday, 15 January 2020 at 10:34 am

Discover gorgeous bleeding heart varieties to grow in your garden.

Save

Bleeding heart, or lamprocapnos (formerly Dicentra), are elegant, shade-loving perennials grown for their pendulous spring flowers.

As woodland plants, they're ideally suited to cool, shady spots in the garden with moist soil, including in containers. They can be grown in full sun, too, as long as the soil stays reliably moist. Before planting bleeding heart, it's worth enriching your soil with plenty of leaf mould to boost its humus content and help it retain moisture.

Generally flowering in April and May, bleeding heart associates well with pulmonarias, aquilegias, hostas and navelwort. Avoid moving or disturbing them where possible, as they have brittle, far-reaching roots that are prone to breaking.

Lamprocapnos 'King of Hearts'

At a glance 'King of Hearts' appears to have all pink flowers, but look closer and you'll discover that the outer petals are delicately edged with white. The glaucous foliage sets off the flowers to perfection.

Lamprocapnos 'King of Hearts'

White-edged, pink flowers of bleeding heart 'King of Hearts'

Lamprocapnos 'Pearl Drops'

'Pearl Drops' is a beautiful pale-flowered variety with creamy flowers that are tinged with pink. It's perfect for brightening up a shady corner. Discover more plants with white flowers.

Lamprocapnos 'Pearl Drops'

Pink-tinged, cream bleeding heart 'Pearl Drops'

Lamprocapnos 'Burning Hearts'

Lamprocapnos 'Burning Hearts' is a particularly deep shade of reddish-pink. Show it off to its best advantage in a sunny spot.

Lamprocapnos 'Burning Hearts'

Deep-pink bleeding heart 'Burning Hearts'

Lamprocapnos 'Alba'

The heart-shaped flowers of 'Alba' are pure white, so it's a good choice for illuminating areas of light shade. Ferns and hostas make excellent planting partners.

Lamprocapnos 'Alba'

White bleeding heart 'Alba'

Lamprocapnos 'Valentine'

'Valentine' is a beautiful bi-coloured variety with cherry-red outer petals and white inner petals. Great in a cottage garden border with complementary pink and purple flowers.

Lamprocapnos 'Valentine'

Cherry-red and white blooms of bleeding heart 'Valentine'

Post-flowering care

Once flowering is finished, bleeding heart foliage will die back as the plant enters dormancy in summer. Think about this when planting, and consider surrounding with summer interest plants that will help disguise the fading foliage.

Don't miss out this Winter

Enjoy expert advice on what to plant and grow this winter, and how to prepare your plot for the year ahead. Enjoy, 6 months for just £31.99

Subscribe now

Great gardening savings - straight to your inbox

Sign up to the BBC Gardeners’ World offers newsletter for exclusive deals, seasonal savings, and early access to special promotions.