I live in the northeast and I’m always looking for flowers and plants that will grow well in planting zone 4. Our winters can get bone-chilling cold and our summers can be blistering hot.
We have a few shady areas on our property and I discovered that Bleeding Hearts and Hostas grow well in these particular areas. They can be planted in partial-sun and/or shady areas, but you should avoid full-sun locations.
We decided to plant our Bleeding Hearts along the front side of our home that is shaded 1/2 of the day. The previous home owners already had a flower bed that runs right up alongside of the house and it definitely needed some attention.
To get going…we completely dug up that flower bed, removed debris and old plants. My husband then added 4 bags of new soil and some fertilizer into the mix. He watered the area lightly and we left it alone overnight.
The next afternoon he planted 6 Bleeding Hearts into the flower bed along with some new Hostas that are perfect for shady areas. Once you have your plants in, water them really well. You’ll want to water the plants on a consistent basis since Bleeding Hearts love moist soil. With that said, don’t over-water them and make sure your soil drains well.
You’ll find that your Bleeding Hearts will bloom every year during the early to mid-Spring time period here in the northeast. For Pennsylvania (my specific area), I typically see them in full bloom during late April and early May. If we’ve had a mild winter, I will see them blooming a littler earlier than that.
Every 3-4 years we like to dig up the plants and separate it’s roots, so that we can propagate new plants. We typically can get 2-3 new plants from every mature plant that we separate. We do re-plant one of those back into the original hole & location. We then take all of our new plant starters and move those into a new location around our property.
The Bleeding Heart is really easy to plant, grow and take care of. It’s great for newbie gardeners and for those partial-shady areas on your property. They are a medium-sized flowering plant that can add little hints of color to your garden.
Beautiful photo. I love flowers so, of course, I have a not really black but brown thumb. The fact that we have mostly shade and clay in the soil makes it really hard to grow. I like that these work well in the shade, are hardy, and come back. I’m always looking at perennials. My daughter and I are planning when we go buy some things. I will have to ask about these. Love the color. Bet it shows up well.
I did not know about bleeding hearts, and I like how easy they are to grow for you. I also like a flower that blooms early. I wish you had show photos of the entire bed of flowers.
Bleeding Hearts are so beautiful! And I love that they bloom early to provide a food source for bees, butterflies, and even hummingbirds. Enjoy your new flower bed and all the pretty creatures it will attract!
I love this flower but I’ve never tried growing it. I don’t have a great green thumb, so I figured I’d just kill it, but if it grows well in shady areas I might try it.
Well, thank you for this! I didn’t know they could grow in the shade! Our NYC apartment has a northwest exposure, and the terrace only gets about 15 minutes of sun, right before it sets. I’d given up on any kind of flowering plant, but you’ve given me hope! I wouldn’t exctly call it a “garden”, but I’m going to try to grow these. They are so pretty. Thanks! : )
I think these flowers are so pretty and would love to grow them in a shady area where I live. I think that you gave me great tips to follow on planting and growing these flowers. Thanks for sharing.
These are so pretty, I’m in the Northeast I will need to check to see if bleeding hearts are in my zone. I don’t have a yard – yet! I want one, and I keep hoping someday I will have one!
We had bleeding hearts when I was growing up. The flowers are fun to take apart and you get 2 earrings and 2 slippers.
I love bleeding hearts. Thank you for this post, now I need to find a nursery that does not use neo-nics and grow some.
I have always loved bleeding hearts. I used to see more people growing them than they do nowdays for some reason. I have bluebells where bleeding hearts would do best, although a do have a few ‘volunteer’ bleeding hearts around. They are pretty plants and quite different, although like bluebells, flowering time is kind of short.
I hope you have good luck with the new bed of hearts!