Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa) in the Bleeding Hearts Database

General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit:	Herb/Forb
Sun Requirements:	Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences:	Mesic Dry Mesic
Plant Height:	8-18 inches
Leaves:	Spring ephemeral Other: The plant can be ephemeral and disappear when the weather warms. It regrows in fall or the following spring.
Flowers:	Showy
Flower Color:	Pink Purple
Bloom Size:	Under 1"
Flower Time:	Spring Late spring or early summer Summer
Underground structures:	Rhizome
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

Common names

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Comments:

Posted by Bonehead (Planet Earth - Zone 8b) on Dec 2, 2013 4:30 PM concerning plant:

Native in the Pacific Northwest, west of the Cascades from British Columbia to California, from the coast to mid elevations. Found in the understory of conifer forests. This happy groundcover naturalizes where it wants in my gardens, typically in shady areas. After it blooms, I pull it all out to neaten up the bed, and it always returns the following spring.

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Posted by Johannian (The Black Hills, SD - Zone 4b) on Jan 9, 2022 6:35 PM concerning plant:

Range: southern two-thirds of California to northern Baja California. Additional info: this plant is most common in disturbed areas; frequent after burns in chaparral.

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Bleeding Hearts Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa)