Aphids like it too, but don’t worry-the birds who like to eat them should keep them in check (especially if you have other natives to attract them): In late April, a small flock of Orange-crowned warblers-fresh from their migration from southern California or Mexico-paused in my yard to feed quite voraciously on them for nearly a week (as well as the flowers, which they pierce to get at the nectar) a couple of the warblers have stayed around and may be nesting nearby. The nectar-rich flowers attract hummingbirds, bumble bees, and syrphid flies, while the foliage may be consumed by the larvae of clodius parnassian butterflies in parts of its range.

Wildlife seems to adore this plant as much as we do, due to a variety of attractants. It thrives in part to full shade in damp forests and woodlands, in ravines, and near streams.īleeding heart may provide food (aphids or nectar) for birds. Western bleeding heart naturally occurs from low to middle elevations in British Columbia and southward into Washington and Oregon (west of Cascades) and northern and central California. It prefers cool weather to hot, and can withstand cold winters. Should moisture reach it during the summer or fall months, it could very well forget about dormancy and even produce more flowers in the fall. In warm areas with no summer irrigation it tends to disappear after its leaves die back, but fleshy roots keep the plant alive until the following spring. With deciduous, finely divided, bluish-green leaves and enchanting, puffy pink flowers, it blooms from early spring into summer. Whoever named it felt the same way, because botanically speaking it’s known as Dicentra formosa the genus name Dicentra refers to the two nectar-bearing spurs characteristic of the flowers of the genus, and the epithet formosa, which means beautiful. We love Western (or Pacific) bleeding heart because it’s so beautiful and delicate, especially in springtime when its leaves are fresh and flowers are bountiful.

Wild bleeding heart