eximia. Fringed bleeding heart. An eastern North American species,
with green to grey green leaves and 12-18" stems of pink flowers. ‘Zestful’
is a particularly floriferous selection with bright, two-tone pink flowers set
against grey green leaves. It blooms most of the year for us. ‘Alba’
has light green leaves and smaller, pure white flowers.
formosa. Western bleeding heart. A native
of the Pacific Coast, very easily grown. The typical form is a vigorous, broadly
clumping plant with pale green leaves and light pink flowers. My selection from
the Sierra Foothills, ‘Tuolumne Rose’, has unusually
large, bright bluish green leaves and exceptionally tall, closely branched stems
of large rose pink blossoms. ‘Adrian Bloom’ is smaller and
even more profuse. It has remarkably blue leaves and good flower color.
’Luxuriant’.
A dazzling hybrid,
involving D. eximia, above. It forms thick clumps of shoots, with bright
blue-green leaves 8-12" tall. Throughout the summer, it makes a lavish
display of deep purplish pink flowers.
DICENTRA.
Bleeding heart. North America, Asia. The bleeding hearts are among the most
elegant of our perennials. They form compact clumps from which sprays of much-divided,
fernlike leaves issue in spring. Closely following the foliage and continuing
into the summer months are slender stems of nodding, heart shaped blossoms.
Winter deciduous. Part shade except near the coast, well drained soil, regular
watering during active growth. Some species tend to rot during our wet winters,
but the following perform well here. Hardy to 0o
and below.