Native Wild Bleeding Heart Blooms Through Summer

A Native Plant Alternative

Wild Bleeding Hearts — Dennis Govoni/Getty Images
Wild bleeding heart is a native plant that thrives in shady areas.

You may be surprised to learn this landscape plant is native to the eastern U.S. Starting in the spring, wild bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia, Zones 3 to 9) blooms white to dark pink heart-shaped flowers. In cooler regions, it continues to bloom all summer, but gardeners further south may also get a second bloom in early fall.

Care and Growing Tips

Common names: Wild bleeding heart, fringed bleeding heart
Scientific name: Dicentra eximia
Zones: 3 to 9
Attracts: Birds, bees, butterflies
Light needs: Part shade
Size: About 1 foot tall and wide
Foliage: This perennial sports delicate, fern-like green leaves
Grown for: Reliable color in woodland gardens and appeals to a wide variety of wildlife
Toxicity: Avoid planting in backyards with unsupervised pets and children as ingesting large quantities is poisonous.

See more pretty cottage garden plants to grow.

Common Bleeding Heart vs Wild Bleeding Heart

Smoky Mountains Wildflower Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia) — wbritten/Getty Images
This plant has fanciful fern-like foliage and a longer bloom time.

It’s a beneficial and longer-blooming alternative to the nonnative Asian bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis, previously Dicentra spectabilis).

Common bleeding heart tends to dieback in summer. Its native lookalike cousin retains its fern-like leaves throughout the growing season, which is an aesthetic plus for gardeners. In the far south, ample moisture and part shade will help it retain the leaves even in hot summer weather.

Wildlife Benefits of Wild Bleeding Heart

Ruby-throated hummingbirds hover under the flowers and sip their nectar, along with other pollinators such as bees and butterflies.

READ ON: Top 10 shade plants for hummingbird gardens

Author

Rachel Maidl

Rachel Maidl is a former senior editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. She enjoys bird-watching in her urban backyard and local state parks, gardening for pollinators and researching new plants. Her favorite backyard visitors are the bumblebees that visit her sedums.

Reviewer

Melinda Myers

Melinda Myers is a nationally known, award-winning garden expert, speaker, TV/radio host and author of more than 20 books. She is the instructor for The Great Courses How to Grow Anything DVD and Instant Video series and host of the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moments TV and Radio segments. With a master’s degree in horticulture and ...

Fact Checker

Kirsten Schrader

Now Birds & Blooms' content director, Kirsten has been writing about birding and gardening for 17 years. Her writing and editing roles have spanned the print and digital landscape. Although she has traveled to see amazing birds throughout the U.S., Kirsten has one dream bucket list bird—the male painted bunting.