Perennial Focus

The appearance of the pink and white, dangling, heart-shaped flowers of Dicentra spectabilis is one of the surest signs that Spring has arrived.

When I was growing up, I lived next door to gardening neighbors who had a huge Dicentra spectabilis in their backyard next to the garage. I had no idea what it was nor did I care. I only knew that its blooming was an event that I looked forward to every year because it was so beautiful and the flowers were so unique.

In subsequent years, I have, of course, learned its name and about its culture. In April, I eagerly await the emergence of the shoots that bear softly divided green foliage.

As a romantic, I love the heart-shaped flowers that bloom on arching stems for most of the month of May. A mature plant will easily grow three feet high and wide. Because the stems are somewhat lax, I use a gro-through to keep it from falling over and smothering the surrounding plants.

There are also some excellent cultivars. 'Alba' has all white flowers and 'Pantaloons' is supposedly a more vigorous selection of 'Alba', but I have never seen it listed in a catalog. A newer cultivar is 'Gold Heart'. This one, with its golden yellow foliage and rosy pink flowers, is quite eye-catching.

The Common Bleeding Heart grows best in partial shade and moist soil, but will also do quite well in full sun as long as it receives adequate moisture. Mine is in full sun until mid-afternoon. The only drawback of this wonderful perennial is the fact that it goes dormant in mid-summer. At that time, it should be cut back to the ground. New foliage will emerge for late summer and fall.

Its dormancy demands careful placement. Site it at the back of a bed so that the plants in front of it will hide the bare ground during midsummer. I've used chrysanthemums and Caryopteris divaricata 'Snow Fairy' in front of it. The Caryopteris, in particular, hides the space beautifully because it grows even taller than the Dicentra and also shades it as the second growth foliage appears.

There are several other Dicentra species but spectabilis is the largest and most imposing species. A native of Japan, it is extremely hardy, from zones 2 to 7, but thrives best in the North. Brought back from Japan to England in the 1840's, it has long been considered an "old-fashioned" plant, and was a staple of Victorian gardens and the gardens of our grandparents and great-grandparents. However, this is a perennial that should be found more often in today's gardens. Beauty never goes out of style.

Bobbie Schwartz, owner of Bobbie's Green Thumb in Shaker Hts., Ohio, is a landscape designer, consultant, free-lance writer, and lecturer whose specialties are perennial gardens and four-season landscapes. In addition to being an Ohio Landscape Association (OLA) member, she is an active member of the Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association (ONLA) and Perennial Plant Association (PPA). Bobbie is a Past President of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD). Bobbie currently serves as chair of the ONLA Plant Selection Committee. Bobbie can be reached at (216) 752-9449.