Bleeding Heart Uses

• The versatile bleeding heart shrub or vine offers a multitude of uses in the landscape. Perennial specimens with multicolor, heart-shaped blooms add a flowering presence to any area in need of warmth and color. Both the shrub and the vine may be combined with other flowering perennials or used as a stand-alone specimen.

Bleeding Heart Vine

• White and red blooms of bleeding heart vine.

  Bleeding heart vines may be used to add height in the flowerbed or garden in a space too small to accommodate a shrub or tree. Clerodendron thomsoniae may be trained to grow on a trellis or pergola with coordinating red and white flowers below. When twining on a support, the vine may be allowed to cascade from the top for a lush, thick appearance. This vine prefers a well-draining and slightly acidic soil for optimum performance in United States Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 9-11.

Bleeding Heart Houseplant

• Limited to outdoor growth in the warmer USDA Plant Hardiness Zones, those in cooler temperatures may take advantage of this perennial climber as an indoor plant. Used in this capacity, the bleeding heart vine rarely reaches more than three feet and responds well to heavy pruning. Prune this plant only after flowering has stopped. Flowers of this vine bloom on new growth, so premature pruning limits the prolific display. If you must prune before flowering begins, do this no later than mid-February. The bleeding heart vine may accompany cut flowers, potted flowering plants or complement other houseplants grown for foliage. When in bloom, companions of red and white roses or carnations may create a decorative show in the indoor display.

Bleeding Heart Shrub

• Some cultivars offer white blossoms.

  Dicentra spectabilis blooms in spring, producing pink and white heart-shaped flowers borne on arching stems. This blooming shrub performs best when planted in a shade to part shade area, such as a mixed shrub border. Cultivars such as Pantaloons or Alba produce solid-white flowers, which may brighten a shady area and coordinate with any hue one may choose. Dicentra spectabilis may grow in the ground or in a large container. In the ground or in containers, bleeding heart is deer resistant. This shrub prefers cooler temperatures and goes dormant in the heat of the summer, when pruning is acceptable. Its foliage can provide a summer background for heat-loving, shade perennials, such as big root geranium.