Wild Bleeding Heart

Dicentra eximia

Ferny mounds that drip with pink hearts from spring straight through summer in shade.

the Northeastthe Mid-Atlanticthe Southeast

Growing Wild Bleeding Heart

Unlike Asian bleeding heart it doesn't go dormant, blooming for months in cool shade. Reseeds gently into rock crevices and shaded slopes. It’s deer-resistant, long-blooming, and showy.

Where it grows

Wild Bleeding Heart is native to the Northeast. In the wild you’ll find it across Alabama · Arkansas · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland and 18 more states. Always confirm it suits your specific county with your state native plant society before planting.

Regional Garden shows Wild Bleeding Heart on 28 state pages.

Good for

Pollinators For bees Hummingbirds Deer-resistant For shade

Sourcing

Where to buy Wild Bleeding Heart

Seeds & live plants on Amazon

Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.

Browse on Amazon

Some links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.

Plant it with

Companions & kin.

Natives that share Wild Bleeding Heart’s range and conditions.

Perennial wildflower

Foxglove Beardtongue

Penstemon digitalis

Airy white bells in early summer, a bridge bloom between spring ephemerals and the summer prairie.

Full–part sun
Dry–average
2–4 ft
Blooms May–Jun

Spring ephemeral

Virginia Bluebells

Mertensia virginica

Pink buds opening to drifts of sky-blue bells, then vanishing underground by summer.

Part shade
Average–wet
1–2 ft
Blooms Mar–May

Perennial wildflower

Wild Columbine

Aquilegia canadensis

Nodding red-and-gold lanterns that greet the first spring hummingbirds at a woodland edge.

Part shade
Dry–average
1–2.5 ft
Blooms Apr–Jun

Shrub

Buttonbush

Cephalanthus occidentalis

Spherical white 'pincushion' flowers over standing water, swarmed by butterflies and bees.

Full–part sun
Average–wet
5–10 ft
Blooms Jun–Aug