White Bleeding Heart

This is the white version of the Old-Fashioned Bleeding Heart, Dicentra spectabilis. Many gardeners enjoy planting both the pink and white together for a startling bi-colored effect with spring bloom. The white flowers are particularly striking in shade against the dark background of trees and shrubs.

Great color in the shade, The Bleeding Hearts. The genus Dicentra, commonly called Bleeding Heart, gives us some of the most treasured plants in America, providing dependable color in moist shade as companions with Hostas and Ferns.

Most popular and world-famous, is D. spectabilis, a species native to Japan. It is the larger of the dicentras (to about 3 feet,) and has the famous little heart-shaped flowers arrayed along arching stems, a lot like a string of pearls. The large bleeding hearts bloom only in spring, and in some areas, disappear altogether by midsummer, much like Trilliums and Daffodils.

They are quite easy to grow, as long as woodland conditions are provided. That means some shade, plenty of moisture with good drainage, and rich soil. Once your clumps have become large, you can easily divide the rhizomes after flowering.