Question: I have a wonderful stand of bleeding hearts in my front garden that come up after the tulips and daffodils have bloomed, but by late June and July the foliage looks terrible. Any suggestions for under plantings or follow-on plantings? The garden faces west and gets about half-day sun.
Answer: Bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis; syn. Dicentra spectabilis) can be frustrating as they transition from their charming spring bloom to dormancy. Once the leaves have yellowed, you can cut them back.
Classic companions include hostas and ferns. These perennials' foliage is usually picking up speed just as the bleeding heart finishes blooming and begins to decline. (Caution: If the afternoon sun reaching your garden is strong and hot, the ferns may burn.)
Brunnera macrophylla makes a good partner as well. The cultivar ‘Jack Frost’ is very popular. This plant has green-and-white-spotted foliage and blue spring flowers. It blooms about the same time as bleeding heart, but its foliage remains attractive all summer.
Astilbes bloom in early to midsummer, with large plumes of bright flowers held upright. These may be just the trick for screening your bleeding hearts’ demise. Bear in mind that astilbes require regular watering.
Coral bells (Heuchera), foamflowers (Tiarella) and their hybrid, foamy bells (Heucherella), can all provide interest and distraction with their colorful leaves, and they’ll do well in part shade.
Related: Read about 'Spicy Lime' heucherella, a chartreuse-leaved cultivar that would look fantastic with pink-blooming bleeding heart.
You might also try planting Dicentra ‘King of Hearts’ or ‘Luxuriant’—bleeding heart hybrids that bloom all summer in cool regions. In warmer climates, they take a short rest at midsummer but then rebloom toward autumn. In all areas, these hybrids' foliage looks decent all summer long. There's also Titanium dicentra, a newer hybrid bleeding heart with a long bloom time and good heat tolerance. Read more about Dicentra Titanium here.
Cultivars of the eastern-US native fernleaf bleeding heart (D. eximia), such as ‘Burning Hearts’, also provide longer bloom and green foliage through the summer if you deadhead the spent flowers and do not allow the plants to dry out. The same can be said for native Pacific bleeding heart (D. formosa).
Image credits: Bleeding heart by manuel m.v. / CC BY 2.0; Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' by manuel m. v. /CC BY 2.0; Astilbe 'Bressingham Beauty courtesy of Walters Gardens
