Bleeding Hearts for St. Valentine's Day

For Valentine’s Day centerpieces or spring-featured woodland gardens, few plants can top the showy, romantic flowers of Bleeding Heart. Formerly known as Dicentra spectabilis, it has been renamed to Lamprocapnos spectabilis (pronounced lam-pro-CAP-nos speck-TAB-il-iss). The description spectabilis means showy, and this flower lives up to its name. The outer petals (pink, rose, or red) form a heart shape, while the inner petals (white) extend below the point, looking as if love is oozing out. The description belies the beauty of the individual blooms, which remind me of traditional Irish jewelry, the Claddagh (symbolizes love, friendship, and loyalty). These heart flowers (from seven to fifteen) appear on one side of the arching stem. The foliage is coarsely lobed.

Bleeding Heart is ephemeral, which means it comes up in early spring, flowers, then goes completely dormant in summer, fall, and winter. This disappearing habit means they pair well with hostas and ferns, which will expand to conceal holes left by their vanishing act. Their delicate color pairs well with blue and pink Mertensia virginica (bluebells) and yellow Primula vulgaris (primroses).  

Site Bleeding Heart in a part-shade to all-shade area with neutral to alkaline soil. They tolerate most soil types, sand to clay, but are more demanding with water needs. They want to be dry when dormant, and have plentiful moisture but not constantly wet while in growth and flowering. Plentiful organic matter in the soil will produce larger plants with more flowers.

Bleeding Heart is perennial in zones 3-9. After a year or two, they will reach heights of three feet with a two foot spread. The cultivar ‘Alba’ has white flowers, and ‘Gold Heart’ has yellow foliage. Both these cultivars will tolerate more sun than the straight species. ‘Gold Heart’ needs a little bit of sun to achieve best leaf color.

Plants are toxic if eaten. Sap causes contact dermatitis to sensitive skin. Bleeding Heart is not browsed by deer or rabbits, and is rarely troubled by insects.

Calling All Columbines

One of the stars among spring perennials is Aquilegia (pronounced a-kwil-EE-jee-a), also called Columbine. In the southeastern US, there are two common species, the hybrid Aquilegia x hybrida and Aquilegia canadensis, the Wild Columbine or Red Columbine. Less common but more impressive is Aquilegia vulgaris.

All prefer moist woodland soils and partial shade in the South. They will tolerate more sun in cooler zones. They are deciduous perennials in zones 3-8. They may go dormant before winter if soil stays dry. Provide supplemental irrigation in extended dry weather but do not allow soil to be boggy. Columbine foliage is finely cut, almost lacy in appearance, and may have a slight blue tint. The hybrids bloom in pastel shades of rose, blue, pink, yellow, white and bi-colors. Most flowers have long spurs. Aquilegia vulgaris has a two-layer double form without spurs that looks like a tiny Dahlia. Some of these have an ombre color pattern. A somewhat strange common name for these doubles is “Granny’s Bonnet.”

Columbines reach heights of one to three feet. They bloom in early spring, then fade into obscurity. They can be raised from seed, but will not bloom until the second season. They will reseed, but hybrid seedlings will not mimic the mother plant. Removing spent blooms encourages more flowers.

Deer and rabbits leave Columbines alone. Unfortunately, the plants are a frequent target for leaf miners. On a garden tour several years ago, the host proudly displayed her “variegated” Columbines. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that her plants were not variegated at all but had a serious leaf miner infestation. If plants show signs of miner damage, remove the damaged leaves but cutting off the entire stem. The plant will regenerate new leaves.

The native Wild Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis, departs from the pastel colors of their cousins and instead sports colorful red and yellow flowers. It will reseed and, unlike the hybrids, its offspring will have the same flowers. It is not prone to leaf miner damage. Different from the other species, Wild Columbine can be used in rain gardens, where they may be subject to wet conditions for days at a time.

All the Columbines make wonderful additions to shady woodland beds and pollinator gardens, where they are popular with butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. They look best planted in groups rather than singles.

Cold Gold - Winter Aconite

Recent rains and gusty winds brought down the last colorful autumn leaves. It will be a few weeks before crocus, hellebores, mahonias and edgeworthias start blooming. In browsing for new garden additions to brighten the winter scene, I ran across Winter Aconite, sometimes called Buttercup.

Eranthus hyemalis, pronounced er-AN-thiss hy-eh-MAY-liss, enjoy similar light conditions as Hellebores: full sun during bloom period, partial shade otherwise. This makes them an ideal candidate to plant under deciduous trees. They enjoy regular moisture but will tolerate less during dormancy. Golden yellow Winter Aconites bloom early, even before crocus.

The plants grow from tubers which should be planted rather deep (5 inches in good soil, a little shallower in heavy clay) so they are not damaged by cold. Soak the tubers overnight before planting to give them a good start. Winter Aconites are petite plants and should be planted close together in tight groups rather than spaced apart. They enjoy a rich soil and will survive in zones 4-9.

Plants can be propagated by division. Happy plants grown in fertile soil with plentiful moisture may reseed, sometimes heavily. They can be planted in the lawn as well as in flower beds, since the post-bloom foliage will wither and die before it’s time to mow grass in the spring. This is one of the few plants unaffected by the toxic substance, juglone, produced by black walnut trees.

Regretfully, I’ll need to forgo this one. Winter Aconites are extremely toxic to humans and pets. Eating the bloom, leaves or bulbs results in nausea, disrupts heart rhythms and can be deadly.

The photo is of a plant in a local botanical garden.

Winter Aconite at Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve, Spartanburg, SC. Anonymous photographer.