Growing Bleeding Heart: A Complete Profile

By Growing Home Greens Team · August 20, 2026

Bleeding heart is a spring perennial with arching stems of pendant pink and white flowers, and it disappears entirely partway through the year.

Summer dormancy catches everyone once

NC State Extension puts it plainly: by mid-summer the leaves decline, turn yellow and drop after blooming has ended. The plant is not dying. It has finished its year and gone dormant underground.

Two practical consequences. Plant something nearby that fills the gap in July, because there will be one. And mark where the crown is, so you do not put a spade through it in August looking for a plant that is only asleep.

Morning sun, afternoon shade

That is the toolbox’s recommendation, though it tolerates deep to partial shade and handles full sun in cool moist climates. Hot afternoon sun brings the dormancy on earlier.

Sizes

Two to three feet tall and one to three feet across, hardy zones 3 through 9, flowering April to June.

The genus name changed from Dicentra to Lamprocapnos, which is why older references and newer ones disagree. Same plant.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Lamprocapnos spectabilis.

Companion planting guide for Bleeding Heart · Find your planting dates

Typically viable in USDA zones 3-9. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.

Method: Direct sow: Direct-sow outside. Bleeding Heart doesn't transplant well, or doesn't need the extra time indoors.

See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →

How many Bleeding Heart plants fit per square foot?

Spacing: about 2 square feet per plant (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 2-3 ft.

Where to buy bleeding heart seeds

• Botanical Interests
• True Leaf Market
• Burpee
• High Mowing Organic Seeds

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See it growing

Search YouTube for "growing bleeding heart" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)

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Growing Bleeding Heart: It flowers in spring, vanishes completely by midsummer, and that is normal rather than a death.

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