How Do I Lay Out Bleeding Hearts?

The delicate pink and red flowers of the bleeding heart add a gentle splash of color to the flower garden. Bleeding hearts are a low growing perennial. They bloom in the spring and love shaded areas with moist soil and good drainage. Plant bleeding hearts as a ground cover in a shrub bed or add them to a perennial flowering border area. Before planting, lay out the bleeding heart plants to get a sense of spacing and overall effect.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

things you’ll need:

• Shovel

1. Plan to plant bleeding hearts in the spring after the last frost date has passed. Select a planting area where the soil is moist but not saturated, as bleeding hearts will develop root rot if planted in water logged soil. An area that has dappled shade or full shade is best.
2. Place the bleeding hearts out while still in their nursery pots to get a sense of the overall effect. Plan to space individual bleeding heart plants 6 to 12 inches apart. When planting bleeding hearts with other leafy perennials, like ferns and hostas, leave 12 inches between the plants.
3. Move each bleeding heart from the planting site and set it off to the side. Dig a hole that is slightly wider than the nursery pots your bleeding hearts are in and make it the same depth.
4. Remove the bleeding heart from the nursery pot and place it into the planting hole. Fill in the soil around it and pat down the area. Continue through the garden bed until all the bleeding hearts you laid out are planted.

Tips & Warnings

• Bleeding hearts are best planted with plants that have good foliage throughout the year so that when they die back in the summer, you aren’t left with a bare spot in the garden.