I brought home some bleeding hearts

I spent an hour in Summer Winds Nursery in Sunnyvale. There were surely plenty of interesting plants, trees, flowers and shrubs... In general, the bigger the plants, the bigger the number is on the price tag. So, even though there are many that I was also fond of, I weighed my pocket, the economy, the job market, I picked a plant that I really liked : bleeding hearts for $9.99. Only 2 pots there: one had pretty stems with leaves wide spreading and with eye catching flowers; the other had shorter stem, denser leaves and no flowers at all. From the photo, you know which one I picked.

Bleeding Hearts :

excellent perennial for the shade garden, very attractive with their light transparent green color, deeply divided and fern like foliage and blooms are borne on arching flowers stems above the foliage. Their 1 inch, heart-shaped flowers have rose pink, red or white outer petals with strongly reflexed tips, and the inner petals are white and exerted. There is a variety with white outer petals and an exerted red flower like inner petal. (I wonder where to find them.)

Planting

average, medium wet, well-drained, organically rich soil in part shade to full shade.

Care

For the Bleeding Heart, there is no serious insect or disease problems. Organic matter in the soil will supply all the protection the roots need. Foliage dies down in the fall. Some susceptibility to aphid infestations. Occasionally stem rot appears but this can be prevented by planting in clean soil.

Because Bleeding Hearts last for years, they will probably become overcrowded and need dividing in 3-4 years. Dig up in early spring but be sure to handle the roots very carefully because they are extremely brittle. Each piece of root division should have an eye or bud however, the root need not be more than 3 feet long. New planting locations should be well marked and cleaned removing dormant stems remaining if any.