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A visit to Fullers Mill a couple of weeks ago allowed me to discover that they have an attractive collection of ‘bleeding hearts’ flowers, both Dicentra formosa cultivars and the Lamprocapnos spectabilis that you see above. (In the past, both of these were in the same genus, but scientists decided that Dicentra spectabilis really wasn’t a Dicentra after all, and called it Lamprocapnos. This new, tongue-twisty name was not the best news for us gardeners, and I’m using copy and paste to make sure I spell it right.)
As you can see from the photos below, they certainly look like they are very closely related. But the Dicentra has smaller leaves that emerge straight from the ground, whereas the Lamprocapnos has leaves on long stems that also hold the flowers. The flower stems of Dicentras do not have any leaves. So much for that, I doubt that the bee enjoying the Lamprocapnos cares!
Right; white ‘Asian bleeding hearts’ (Lamprocapnos spectabilis ‘Alba’)
The photo below, from a post a couple of years ago, shows a close up of Dicentra flowers and it’s easy to see why the very similar Lamprocapnos flowers were thought to be the same genus for so long. The plant here is one from my own garden, Dicentra formosa ‘Aurora’. It’s really too hot for it here but it’s surviving. It may do a bit better if I transfer it to a place with more shade.
When I still lived in Scotland, I grew Dicentra formosa ‘Langtrees’ in the garden. It’s a lovely white flowered cultivar, very similar to ‘Aurora’, but with much more grey/blue leaves. I found it at Fullers Mill too, looking great in the moist soil and with some shade from nearby trees. My plant in Scotland spread a long way over time, but used to die down in hot summers, making an awkward gap in the border. Sadly, I don’t think it would manage to spread very far in this garden.
If I had better, cooler conditions for growing Dicentra, the plant below is one that I’d be very tempted by. I don’t know its name, but there are several red and dark pink cultivars available, including ‘Bacchanal’, Cox’s Dark Red’ and ‘Filigree’. Ah, now, if only my garden was a bit cooler, these lovely flowers and delicate leaves would be sure to make my heart happy!
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 