UT Gardens’ March Plant of the Month
Submitted by Camille Newsom, research coordinator, UT Gardens, Jackson
When winter melts away, loosening its cold grip on the garden, spring enters the scene with a burst of flowers called spring ephemerals. Ephemerals only last a short period of time. They take advantage of the sweet in-between moment, when the weather is cool but not freezing and before trees leaf out.
Our native bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia) is one of the staples of springtime that hang around with all the ephemeral beauties on the forest floor, particularly in the mountains of East Tennessee. Its showier cousin, the bleeding heart native to Asia, (Lamprocapnos spectabilis, formally Dicentra spectabilis), is an old-fashioned favorite. Unlike many true ephemerals that might only last a few days, bleeding hearts grace the garden for most of the spring season.
Both the native and Asian bleeding heart emerge in spring with fern-like, deeply cut, beautifully textured foliage, followed by stems adorned with cascading heart-shaped blooms that feature an elongated inner petal, protruding from the center and hanging from the bottom. This gives each delicate flower the appearance of a heart burst open with a droplet of blood dripping from the bottom.
These perennials thrive in partial to full shade and organically rich to average garden soil. Good drainage and a regular supply of organic matter will encourage the return and proliferation of these delicate beauties in the garden. Bleeding heart flowers are usually found in shades of pink, red and white. They are about an inch long and half as wide. Each flower stem usually carries around 10 pendulous blooms, with multiple flower stems on each plant. ‘Valentine’ is a favorite cultivar with bold cherry-red flowers. ‘Gold Heart’ is an exceptional choice, standing out with chartreuse foliage.
Bleeding heart pairs beautifully with other perennials like ferns, Virginia bluebells, trillium and lungwort and shrubs such as azaleas and hydrangeas in a woodland garden setting. The native D. eximia usually grows around 15 inches tall and carries smaller, less showy blooms than L. spectabilis, which grows 18 -24 inches tall and has more robust flower power. Both species are toxic to animals, making them deer and rabbit resistant. Both plants thrive in the spring when the temperatures are mild. As summer heats up their foliage will yellow and die back. Plants typically go dormant by mid-summer and do not emerge again until the following spring.
You can find bleeding hearts growing in UT Gardens locations in Jackson, Crossville and Knoxville. Adding one (or more) of these beauties to your garden will be easy this year as all three UT Gardens sites will have them available at their spring plant sales.
The UT Gardens includes plant collections located in Knoxville, Crossville and Jackson, Tennessee. Designated as the official botanical garden for the State of Tennessee, the UT Gardens are part of the UT Institute of Agriculture. The Gardens’ mission is to foster appreciation, education and stewardship of plants through garden displays, educational programs and research trials. The Gardens are open during all seasons and free to the public.