Dicentra spectabilis 'Gold Heart'

• perennial

• -20 to -30ºF ZONE 4
• -10 to -20ºF ZONE 5
• 0 to -10ºF ZONE 6
• 10 to 0ºF ZONE 7
• 20 to 10ºF ZONE 8

Height x width: 24-36" x 18-24"

Growth rate; habit: moderate, open upright

Foliage: dissected to deeply cut, compound, bright gold all season

Flowers: rose-pink, typical heart-shaped for species, spring

Hardiness: USDA zones 4-8 (zone 4 if good snow cover or mild winter)

Soil: moist, tolerates some dry, not wet

Light: full sun in north if moisture, part shade in south where it may turn lime green in summer

Pests and problems: none significant

Landscape habit, uses: shade garden or border, full sun border in cool summer climates; combines well with spring flowers such as primroses, bugloss, forget-me-nots, tulips, bright green ferns, purple or dark-leaved plants such as some Cimicifuga
cultivars as Hillside Black Beauty

Other interest: very different from common bleeding heart in foliage, and main attraction; from Nori Pope, Hadspen Gardens and Nursery, Castle Cary, Somerset, England where it was found as a gold mutation on the species, and propagated from tissue culture, being introduced in 1997. First plants of common bleeding heart (species) introduced to England in 1840's from Japan by famous plant explorer Robert Fortune; flowers resemble bleeding hearts.

Other culture: not as hardy or vigorous as species, may be hard to establish in less than ideal climate and conditions; may tend to die back later in summer

Propagation: difficult, generally commercially by tissue culture

Source: Perry's Perennials University Vermont

• Less then 1 day ZONE 1
• 1 to 7 days ZONE 2
• 7 to 14 days ZONE 3
• 14 to 30 days ZONE 4
• 30 to 45 days ZONE 5
• 45 to 60 days ZONE 6
• 60 to 90 days ZONE 7
• 90 to 120 days ZONE 8
• 120 to 150 days ZONE 9