How to Grow Bleeding Hearts

Bleeding hearts grow vigorously under ideal conditions.

Bleeding hearts belong to the genus Dicentra, which includes approximately eight species and numerous cultivars of shade-loving flowering plants. The common name refers to the pendulous, heart-shaped flowers, which occur in shades of red, pink and white. Most commonly cultivated varieties of bleeding hearts are hybrids and must be grown using vegetative propagation methods such as cuttings and division since the seeds do not grow true to form, but the plants root easily and will rapidly regenerate if provided with dappled shade, adequate water and mildly acidic soil.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Gardening knife
• Floral snips
• 4-inch pot
• Potting soil
• Compost
• 0.1- to 0.2-percent rooting hormone
• Low-nutrient rooting medium

Instructions

Growing Bleeding Hearts From Root Cuttings

1. Dig up a mature bleeding heart plant in late winter, or remove it from its pot. Manually remove the soil from around the rootball until the roots are fairly clean and easy to see.

2. Sever a sizable portion of the roots using a gardening knife. Make the root portion at least 4 square inches. Divide the roots into quarters.

3. Alter the length of the roots with a pair of floral snips. Make the thicker roots between 1/2 and 1 inch in length and the thinner roots at least 2 inches in length.

4. Fill the bottom half of a 4-inch pot with equal measures potting soil and moderately acidic compost. Hold the bleeding heart roots in the pot so the tips of the longer roots rest on the surface of the soil. Fill in around the roots with additional soil until they are covered.

5. Water the bleeding heart root cuttings to a depth of 3 inches after potting them. Water the cuttings whenever the soil feels dry on the surface.

6. Place the potted bleeding heart roots in a warm, sheltered spot outdoors away from direct sun and strong wind. Repot the immature bleeding heart plants into a permanent container in four to six weeks, or whenever new growth emerges.

Growing Bleeding Hearts From Stem Cuttings

1. Locate a young offshoot near the edge of a mature bleeding heart plant in early spring as it emerges from winter dormancy. Find an offshoot with stems no taller than 5 inches and young but fully formed leaves.

2. Sever the offshoot near the soil line using a pair of floral snips. Treat the base of the cutting with a weak 0.1- to 0.3-percent rooting hormone solution.

3. Insert the cutting into a 4-inch pot filled with low-nutrient rooting medium such as perlite or sharp sand. Stick the cutting into the medium so the lower half is buried.

4. Place the potted bleeding heart cutting in a sheltered spot with bright, indirect sun and cool temperatures. Water the cutting whenever the soil dries out just below the surface.

5. Transfer the bleeding heart cutting to a permanent pot filled with mildly acidic soil once it roots, which takes approximately six weeks.

Growing Bleeding Heart From Divisions

1. Grow bleeding hearts from divisions in mid-spring or late summer when the plant is actively growing but not blooming. Dig up a mature, well-established bleeding heart plant, or remove it from its pot. Dig around the base of the plant using a shovel inserted at least 6 inches deep into the soil.

2. Cut the roots and aerial portions of the plant into four to six equal portions using a gardening knife. Make sure each portion has an adequate number of roots.

3. Plant each divided section in a separate pot or in a prepared garden bed with similar light, soil and moisture conditions as the original bleeding heart plant.

4. Water the bleeding heart divisions to a depth of at least 4 inches after planting them. Maintain moisture at a depth of 3 inches thereafter.

5. Mist the foliage daily during the rooting process to keep the bleeding heart plants hydrated and healthy.

6. Watch for renewed leaf and stem growth in four to six weeks.

References

• "American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Practical Techniques"; Alan Toogood; 1999
• Michigan State University Extension: Ornamental Plants: Dicentra Spectabilis or Bleeding Heart
• Texas A&M University Department of Horticultural Sciences: Ornamental Plants: Dicentra spectabilis or Bleeding Heart