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Dicentra (Bleeding Heart)
BenDover
Posts: 488
Should I cut back to base? Also, is now a good time for dividing, bearing in my they don't like movement?
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yes you can cut it back Tim, it's over for this year. I've never divided one but I don't think I'd do it now if I did. It's dormant and may rot in the winter rather than grow
In the sticks near Peterborough
I divided mine in spring, if that's any help.
you need to keep it in damp and shady place and water well in growing season it does die back and will be back next year but it has to be watered well.
Spring division just as it starts growing again. Cut back now!
Yes, I agree. Cut it back now and it will start growing again in spring.
I cut back when its died down. I also have devided mine and have got some super plants from it, I can't remember what time of year I devided it but would guess it would be in the spring
Thanks folk. Too late to get out now with secateurs. Already on second G&T. Health and Safety of course!
Thanks Verdun.
The border where it is is only about foot and half deep. In front is Geranium which is also looking tatty which I know I can chop back. The border is going to look a but empty afterwards. Any ideas of what summer planting I can do to take over as the dicentra dies down (or pruned back). I have tried crocosmia (small dainty type about same height as dicentra), but despite lots of fresh greeshorts in spring, because the dicentra does such of good job of blocking out light under its canopy, the crocosmia doesn't stand a chance and never comes to anything. Need something that can burst thru' Dicentras canopy in around early/mid June and take over from where Dicentra left off. As people might know, Ive only got small garden so I really cram stuff in but any gaps look really huge in a small garden. The Dicentra does really well because its a semi-sheaded position and only gets direct sun in the first 3-4 hours of the day.
On this sauvignon I wouldn't want to be handling the secateurs. I'm surprised I can still spell secateurs.
In the sticks near Peterborough