dividing bleeding heart plants - Knowledgebase Question

Fairfield, Co
Avatar for cjbozzi
Question by cjbozzi
April 13, 2010
When is the best time to divide a bleeding heart plant. I have pink/red and white ones. Can I do it now while they are blooming?


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Answer from NGA
April 13, 2010
Late winter is the best time to dig and divide bleeding hears. If you dig and divide them now they will stop blooming. Dicentra (bleeding hearts) have very brittle roots and are best left in place, where they will quietly grow larger and more gorgeous. If you must dig and transplant, do so with care, or they will ?sulk? and take several seasons before flowering again. The official method is to insert two forks at the edges of the plant and ?tease? it apart. However this requires that you own two forks, and most gardeners resort to the crude but tried and true, and quicker method of chopping the plant into divisions with a spade. As long as you have the majority of the root system, don't worry about trying to get every last root out. Best wishes with your bleeding hearts.

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