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Bleeding Heart Instructions

How to grow the most beautiful, old fashioned, spring blooming Bleeding Heart in the neighborhood!

Did you know that the Bleeding Heart has been known and valued in China and Japan for hundreds of years? It was admired and guarded by the Chinese Emperors as one of their favorite garden treasures. They called it Hong-pak-moutan-wha. Bleeding Heart were first brought to England in 1847 by Robert Fortune, a noted plant collector. Since that time they have become one of the mainstays in all of the major gardens of the Western World.

When to Plant

  • Can be planted in the fall for blooms the following spring or plant in the spring to establish for even more prolific blooming the following year.

Where to Plant

  • These garden beauty Bleeding Heart will last for years. Be sure you plant them where you can enjoy them!
  • Bleeding Heart need only one thing for success — an ordinary, well cultivated garden soil. If your soil is poor, work in humus or peat moss and sand into the hole when planting.
  • For best results Dicentra should have a cool, shaded location. Their fullest color and greatest beauty are brought out by partial shade. However, they can be grown in full sun.

How to Plant

Remove poly wrapping before planting

  • Loosen the soil to a depth of 12-15 inches and 15-18 inches across. Hollow out a sufficiently large hole for each root. Plant deeply with the eye up. The eye is the reddish bud at the top of the root.
  • After planting, tamp the soil firmly around the root and water deeply.

Feeding

  • Water frequently during dry spells and fertilize about twice a year.

Plant Care

  • With very little care you and your grandchildren will enjoy recurring beauty.
  • Mature plants grow about 2 feet high with extremely attractive foliage. In late summer the foliage may die back — this is perfectly normal.

Winterizing

  • During the first winter after planting, a mulch is desirable.