The Bleeding Heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis, is a remarkably hardy plant well-suited to the northwest climate where I live. It likes shady conditions with little direct sunlight. It's good for adding color to drab places where other plants can't thrive.
A bloom on my mother's plant
I first bought one ten years ago when I worked at a wholesale greenhouse where various flowers were grown for retail buyers. Since then, I have grown a few, and my mother has had one that has done quite well ever since I gave it to her for Mother's Day back then.
Her plant has grown from a tiny sprig in a pot to a healthy shrub that has shrugged off being transplanted twice and being cut back every winter.
It currently fills an odd gravel patch underneath a set of stairs, and every year grows to a massive four foot wide bush filled with green leaves and flowers.
As summer progresses, it grows and blooms, and then continues growing after the blooming is done until the dry summer gets the better of it. Eventually, as autumn approaches, the dead stalks can be cut back near the ground and it stays dormant until it is time to re-emerge the next spring.
If you want an interesting perennial flowering plant with little maintenance required and a pleasant spring splash of color in the shade, grab some before the greenhouses and nurseries are out of stock for the year!
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