Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Fernleaf Bleeding Heart, Fringed Bleeding Heart

Brand:  Proven Winners

Description:

A compact mound of ferny, blue-green foliage, beneath delicate, dangling heart-shaped two-toned pink flowers with white tips,on gracefully arching stems, like little jewels in the garden; likes moist, shady areas

Ornamental Features

Pink Diamonds Fern-leaved Bleeding Heart features delicate nodding shell pink heart-shaped flowers with rose overtones and white tips rising above the foliage from late spring to early fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive ferny compound leaves emerge olive green in spring, turning bluish-green in color with showy steel blue variegation throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Pink Diamonds Fern-leaved Bleeding Heart is an herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Pink Diamonds Fern-leaved Bleeding Heart is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Pink Diamonds Fern-leaved Bleeding Heart will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity extending to 16 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 18 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 16 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen! As this plant tends to go dormant in summer, it is best interplanted with late-season bloomers to hide the dying foliage.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Pink Diamonds Fern-leaved Bleeding Heart is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.