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Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Native Plants < Native Plant Database < Dicentra eximia

Fringed Bleeding Heart
Wild Bleeding Heart
Dicentra eximia

This tough, long-blooming perennial is probably the prettiest plant in my garden. Its foliage is gray-green and wonderfully elaborate—finely cut and fernlike—and its dainty heart-shaped pink flowers remind me of antique lockets (they’re that intricate and fancy). The flowers dangle above the leaves on delicate stalks (called scapes) and bloom on and off from spring until frost. Butterflies and hummingbirds are attracted.

Native to rich forests from North Georgia to New York, fringed bleeding heart is happiest when planted in deep, cool shade and moist, rich, well-drained, acidic soil. In a mild winter it may be evergreen, and once established it will self-sow, though not aggressively. Since fringed bleeding heart is a small plant, place it at the front of your shade bed or close to the edge of a shadowy path, where it can be seen and appreciated.

FAMILY: Fumariaceae (Fumitory Family)

Description: Herbaceous perennial with fine-textured, feathery, gray-green leaves measuring 2 to 10 inches. In Georgia the leaves are often evergreen. One-inch pink flowers bloom heavily in spring and sporadically in summer and fall.

Size: 9 to 18 inches tall and 18 inches wide.

Habit: Clump-forming, mound-shaped. The plant is stemless, so foliage and flowers rise directly from the rootstock.

Growth Rate: Moderate.

Light: Full to part shade.

Planting and Care: Fringed bleeding heart prefers moist, well-drained soils full of rich humus. It won’t tolerate wet soils in winter or dry soils in summer, so it might need to be nursed through Atlanta’s hot, droughty dog days. Though it struggles a little in the heat, it doesn’t go dormant and die to the ground in summer like Dicentra spectabilis (old-fashioned bleeding heart).

Ornamental Value: Assets include heart-shaped pink flowers from spring to fall and graceful, frilly foliage.

Landscape Usage: An excellent addition to the woodland garden, fringed bleeding heart is especially effective when planted in natural drifts under shady trees.

Wildlife Benefits: Flowers attract hummingbirds.

Native Habitat: Found on forest floors from North Georgia to New York. Fringed bleeding heart is at its southern limit in Atlanta and is often stressed by the city’s summer heat and drought.

Propagation: Seed, division.

Photograph and text by Leslie Kimel, Georgia Wildlife Federation