General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Sun Requirements: Partial or Dappled Shade
Partial Shade to Full Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Plant Height: 3 - 6 inches
Plant Spread: 3 - 6 inches
Leaves: Unusual foliage color
Spring ephemeral
Other: Finely divided, fernlike
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: White
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Spring
Underground structures: Tuber
Uses: Will Naturalize
Toxicity: Other: may cause skin irritation
Propagation: Seeds: Needs specific temperature: The seeds need a period of freezing temperatures.
Sow in situ
Start indoors
Can handle transplanting
Other info: To start seeds indoors, place in pot. Put the pot in a plastic bag and place in the freezer for 6-8 weeks. Remove the pot after that time and allow to germinate and grow in regular seedling conditions.
Propagation: Other methods: Division
Other: Divide after flowering
Pollinators: Bumblebees

Image
Common names
  • Bleeding Heart
  • Squirrel Corn
  • Turkey Corn
  • Colic Weed

Photo Gallery
Location: Lucketts, Loudoun County, Virginia
Date: 2011-04-10

Credit NPS
Uploaded by robertduval14
Comments:
  • Posted by Cyclaminist (Minneapolis, Minnesota - Zone 5a) on May 9, 2016 11:37 AM concerning plant:
    Very similar to Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). The leaves are difficult or impossible to tell apart. I have had the plants for many years now, but they have never bloomed. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

    According to my book on the bleeding-heart family, the tubers are yellow and larger than those of Dutchman's breeches, and often not as deeply buried. They are usually called bulblets, but that is simply because there is no word for miniature tuber. They are actually tubers since they do not consist of overlapping scales like other bulbs (for instance, onions).

    The flowers bloom a week later than Dutchman's breeches, and of course the shape is very different, with much shorter pouches near the stem of the flower.

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