Blooms of the bleeding heart plant (Dicentra spectabilis) appear in early spring adorning the garden with attention-getting, heart-shaped flowers borne on arching stems.

Bleeding heart is deciduous plant. It discards leaves at the end of the summer. Bleeding heart develops pink, heart-shaped flowers (petals are white from the inside) with small, white, drop-like hanging part on the bottom side. Flowers are arranged in horizontal clusters.

The Bleeding Heart or Dicentra spectabilis is a plant with fern-like foliage and a unique heart-shaped flower.

The flowers tend to be pink and white, although some are pure white, and they are classified as a perennial. This plant grows best in filtered sunlight rather than direct, and it should be sheltered from drying, hot winds.

The Asian bleeding-heart grows to 120 cm (47 in) tall by 45 cm (18 in) wide. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial with 3-lobed compound leaves on fleshy green to pink stems.

The arching horizontal racemes of up to 20 pendent flowers are borne in spring and early summer. The outer petals are bright fuchsia-pink, while the inner ones are white. The flowers strikingly resemble the conventional heart shape, with a droplet beneath – hence the common name.

The plant sometimes behaves as a spring ephemeral, going dormant in summer.

We’ll be sharing more about this flower in future.