The illustrated growing guide
Bleeding Heart
Lamprocapnos spectabilis
Family Papaveraceae
Est. zones 3-9
The romantic spring shade plant — rows of pink or white hearts dangling from arching stems. The trick everyone learns the hard way: it dies back and disappears entirely by midsummer once heat arrives, leaving a bare gap, so plant hostas or ferns to fill in and mark where it was. It's dormant, not dead, and returns every spring.
Part Shade to Shade
Moderate water
Moderate growth
Deer-resistant
Attracts bees
From the print shop
Growing bleeding heart? Hang it.
Our Shade Garden collection carries bleeding heart — Lamprocapnos spectabilis, print Nº 4, “Bleeding Heart.”
16 designsfrom $21.99white or black groundmatte poster, unframed
I
Overview
Will bleeding heart suit your garden, and what goes wrong.
Will it thrive where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what bleeding heart actually needs.
Hardy inZones 3-9Bleeding Heart at a glance
Common bleeding heart problems
- Aphids (minor)
- Almost none
II
Growing
Light, water, soil, propagation and the season’s jobs.
How to grow bleeding heart: light, water & soil
How to plant & propagate bleeding heart
III
The year
What bleeding heart asks for, month by month.
The bleeding heart year, month by month
BloomWhat each band means
- Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.
The bleeding heart year as text
- Jan quiet month
- Feb quiet month
- Mar quiet month
- Apr quiet month
- May bloom
- Jun quiet month
- Jul quiet month
- Aug quiet month
- Sep quiet month
- Oct quiet month
- Nov quiet month
- Dec quiet month
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
IV
Ecology & uses
What it does for the garden, and what it is grown for.
Bleeding Heart in the garden system
- Herbaceous layer perennial
What bleeding heart is grown for
⚠ Toxic if eatenToxic to pets and people if eaten; sap irritates skin
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
V
Cultivars
Named varieties of bleeding heart, ruled as a catalogue.
Best bleeding heart varieties & cultivars
'Spectabilis' (classic pink); 'Alba' (white); 'Gold Heart' (gold foliage); 'Valentine' (red)
VI
Sources & plant ID
Where the care distinctions come from, and how the plant is filed.
Research basis
Sources behind this profile
No extension citations are attached to bleeding heartyet. The care figures below come from the library's own catalogue rather than a traced primary source.
Plant ID
VII
Where to buy
Third-party nurseries — not Story Thyme Farms.
Third-party nurseries, not Story Thyme Farms. Prices are theirs.
Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.
VIII
Questions
Bleeding Heart questions, answered straight.
Do deer eat bleeding heart?
Rarely — bleeding heart is considered deer-resistant, which makes it one of the safer unfenced choices in deer country. Hungry deer in a hard winter test every rule, but it's a low-risk pick.
Is bleeding heart safe for kids and pets?
No — treat it as toxic if eaten. Toxic to pets and people if eaten; sap irritates skin Site it accordingly if children or pets roam the garden. This is general reference, not medical or veterinary advice — call a vet or poison control if something has actually been eaten.
How do you propagate bleeding heart?
Division or seed.
IX
Elsewhere
Where bleeding heart sits in the library.
Sunflower
Zinnia
Peony
Daylily