Perennial Garden Flower Profile: Bleeding Heart (Dicentra)

The Bleeding Heart (Dicentra) is one of my favorite perennial garden flowers to grow. The beautiful, heart shaped flowers bloom in May and June. Plants range in height from just over a foot to nearly three feet tall (D. spectabilis is the tall variety), and they are tolerant of partial or filtered shade.

Hardy to zone three, these are beautiful perennial garden flowers that can be grown almost everywhere, provided they have rich soil, good drainage and plenty of water. I believe they look best in a wildflower garden (many species are native to forest areas in the United States) or perhaps on the border area of a more formal garden space. But it's hard not to find a garden that is not suitable for these perennial garden flowers.

Propagation of bleeding hearts are done in early spring from root cuttings. You should cut each root so that there is at least one, and possibly two, eyes on the root cutting. Over the years, one plant can be divided into many, and you can establish a large bed of bleeding hearts if you are interested - so you should plan accordingly (or just give away the extra root cuttings to family and friends you are interested in perennial garden flowers).

The only real downside of bleeding hearts is their toxicity. All parts of the plants are poisonous, and they need to be kept away from children who are often drawn to their beautiful flowers. Very young children, in particular, need to be watched around the plants to make sure they don't try to eat one of the flowers, and the plant is toxic to pets as well. To read more about poisonous perennial plant species, please click here.

Or to return to the main Perennial Garden Flowers blog page and read more articles about perennial flower gardening, click here. You are also free to leave any comments have regarding this post on my blog comment page.

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Creating Your First Perennial Flower Garden

If you are considering beginning a new garden with perennial garden flowers, there are many factors to consider before planting your flowers in the ground. With some simple preparation, your perennial garden flowers can produce spectacular flower displays for years to come.

Selecting a Site

When considering a location for a perennial flower garden, you need to ensure that there will be enough sunlight for the flowers to thrive. Most perennial flowers will need at least six or more hours of sunlight a day, although there are some varieties which are shade tolerant. Just be sure that the selections you make are appropriate for the amount of light your garden receives. Ideally your soil will have already been well prepared by digging in compost and other needed amendments prior to planting your perennial flowers.

You should also take note of the quality of the soil and the ability of the soil to drain in the area you are planning on develop your perennial flower garden. You should avoid planting in areas with poor drainage, or that have many weeds that will compete for water and nutrients in the soil. You should also avoid planting where there is considerable foot traffic. You do not want your young seedlings or transplants to be trampled underfoot by pets or children.

Selecting the Right Flowers

Perennial flowers come in a multitude of sizes, shapes and colors. It is easy to become a bit overwhelmed by the variety of selections you can make when shopping for perennial flowers. There are three factors you should consider carefully before making your purchases:

1. Color Combination. Try to choose perennial garden flowers that have complementary color schemes. Some color combinations do not go well together – for example, pink and orange perennials clash, while pastel blues and pinks look quite beautiful together.

2. Height of Flowers. Be sure that you are not hiding a beautiful, but short, perennial flower behind a taller variety.

3. Blooming Period. Perennial flowers bloom for shorter periods of time than most annuals, and it is important to pay attention to the blooming cycles if you want to ensure color all season long.

By taking these elements into consideration when creating your perennial flower garden, you should have no problem creating a beautiful space for your enjoyment.