How to Transplant an Asian Bleeding Heart Plant

For best results, you should transplant an Asian bleeding heart plant in early autumn, after the hottest days of summer have passed. The bleeding heart is a perennial shade plant but can tolerate partial sun as long as it does not get too hot. Relocate the plant under tree canopies or on the shaded side of a building. Properly transplanted, the Asian bleeding heart will yield delicate spring flowers in its new location.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

things you’ll need:

• Shovel
• Compost
• Garden stakes
• Mulch

1. Dig a hole 10 inches deep and 12 inches around in the new location for the plant and fill the bottom 2 inches with compost.
2. Water the ground around the Asian bleeding heart to moisten the soil. Cut a 10-inch circle around the plant, pushing the shovel blade in repeatedly to an 8-inch depth. Slip the shovel in to one of the cuts and push down on the handle, lifting the plant a few inches. Continue pushing and lifting around the circumference to loosen all of the soil.
3. Lift the plant from its original spot, using the shovel and your hands to keep the soil around the plant’s roots. Immediately place the bleeding heart in the new hole and fill in the spaces with soil. Tamp down gently with your foot.
4. Mark the transplanted bleeding heart with a garden stake to ensure you can find the location to water it weekly until after the first frost.
5. Spread a 3-inch layer of mulch over the bleeding heart plant and water it and the surrounding area immediately for 2 to 3 minutes with an open garden hose.

Tips & Warnings

• Mark the Asian bleeding heart with a garden stake when it is in full bloom so that you can find it after the leaves have died.