Bleeding Hearts – delicate plants which faithfully return each spring to tell us that ’Winter has gone for good’
Plant Bleeding Hearts up close to the house, where you will be able to enjoy their exquisite flowers and ferny leaves each time you step outdoors.
And, for a mesmerizing woodland garden, grow more Bleeding Hearts in the shade of a group of spring-flowering trees like Serviceberries. Combining the Bleeding Hearts with some Lamium and Hostas will create a stunning textural carpet.
Bleeding hearts and hostas are two timeless shade garden plants that pair beautifully together. With their complementary forms, colors, bloom times and easy care nature, they make ideal companions in shady beds, borders and woodland gardens. Here’s how to design a showstopping shade garden featuring these classic shade lovers.
Why Bleeding Hearts and Hostas Work So Well Together
Bleeding hearts offer elegantly arching stems topped with dangling, heart-shaped flowers in charming pinks, reds and whites. They bloom in spring when many gardens lack color. Hostas provide big, bold foliage that comes in a diverse range of leaf colors, shapes, sizes and textures. They offer interest all season long.
Together bleeding hearts and hostas provide excellent contrast in texture, form and color. The delicate bleeding hearts bring grace while the hostas supply substance. Hostas also help fill space once the bleeding hearts have finished flowering. Since both thrive with minimal care in shade where other plants struggle they make ideal partners.
Design Tips for Combining Bleeding Hearts and Hostas
Follow these guidelines when planning your bleeding heart and hosta garden
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Complementary colors: Choose hostas with blue, yellow or white leaves to contrast beautifully with the pinks and reds of bleeding hearts. Variegated hostas also pair well.
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Diverse textures: Incorporate hostas with thick corrugated leaves along with ones with smooth, flat foliage for added interest.
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Flower colors: Stick with red or pink bleeding hearts to complement the cool hues of hostas. But white bleeding hearts provide a pretty contrast.
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Plant in drifts Plant bleeding hearts and hostas in uneven clumps and drifts rather than straight rows, Repeat varieties throughout the bed for cohesion,
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Layer heights: Position tall bleeding hearts near the back and shorter ones and hostas in front for dimension.
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Foliage first: Use hostas as foundational plants since their leaves last all season. Intersperse bleeding hearts for added floral flair.
Best Hostas for Combining with Bleeding Hearts
Some top hosta varieties to pair with bleeding hearts include:
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Blue Angel – Massive blue-gray leaves grow up to 4 feet tall and wide.
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Fragrant Bouquet – Heavily corrugated green leaves with fragrant white blooms reach 18-20 inches tall and wide.
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Guacamole – Large chartreuse leaves darken later in summer. Grows 2 feet tall and wide.
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Sagae – Thick blue-green leaves with yellow margins that lighten over time. Grows 20 inches tall and wide.
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Stained Glass – Bright gold leaves with wide, dark green margins. Grows 10-15 inches tall and wide.
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Sum and Substance – Huge chartreuse leaves on a 4 foot wide plant.
Caring for Bleeding Hearts and Hostas
Bleeding hearts and hostas share similar care needs:
- Partial to full shade
- Rich, moist soil
- Regular irrigation, especially at first
- Mulch to retain moisture
- Fertilization in spring
- Division of overcrowded hostas
- Deadheading spent bleeding heart blooms
Extending Seasonal Interest
While bleeding hearts bloom briefly in spring, include other plants that flower at different times to ensure your bleeding heart and hosta garden offers multi-season appeal. Here are some options:
Spring: Pair with spring bulbs like tulips, daffodils and hyacinths along with bergenia, coral bells, and primrose.
Summer: Combine with astilbe, impatiens, Japanese forest grass and torenia.
Fall: Incorporate autumn bloomers like ginger lily, turtlehead and fall asters.
Create Your Own Picturesque Shade Haven
With their natural affinity for shade and harmonious growing needs, it’s hard to find a better perennial pairing than bleeding hearts and hostas. Use these design tips to craft your own enchanting shade garden featuring this classic and carefree duo. You’ll soon have a beautiful, low maintenance sanctuary right in your backyard.
Can you plant hostas and hydrangeas together?
As an underplanting, hostas help soften the bare lower stems of hydrangeas, and will thrive in the deeper shade cast by the taller shrubs. Both prefer a slightly acidic, well-amended soil. When landscaping with hydrangeas and hostas, choose varieties that will grow in your hardiness zone and thrive in your particular climate conditions.
What grows well next to hostas?
Choose a diversity of natives, woodland plants and low-maintenance varieties. For multi-seasonal interest, add flowers that pair well with hostas that bloom at different times of the year. Include plants with attributes such as fall color and attractive bark.
Dividing Hostas, Planting Bleeding Hearts + Currant & Making Garden Memories With My Stepdad
FAQ
What can I plant with bleeding hearts?
Try pairing them with ferns, heuchera, epimediums, and astilbe for a naturalistic and lush design.
What not to plant with hostas?
While shade is important for your hostas, do not plant your hostas under trees whose roots will compete directly with the roots of your hostas. For instance, beeches (Fagus), birches (Betula), cherries (Prunus), large maples (Acer), poplars (Populus), and willows (Salix) should be avoided.
Where should you not plant hostas?
Avoid planting them in spots that receive intense afternoon sun, as this can scorch the hosta leaves. Ideal locations are under the canopy of trees or alongside shade gardens populated with native shrubs and berry bushes.
What perennials go well with hostas?
Heuchera and Heucherella are very popular perennials that come in a rainbow of colors. These bright colors offer some pop in the shade garden and contrast nicely with the foliage of hostas. Heuchera and Heucherella are easy to grow perennials that fit nicely in the front of the garden or in containers.