Bleeding Heart, Cuor di Maria: the romantic heart-shaped flower

With its Asian origins, Bleeding-heart is a small and original perennial plant with unmistakable pink and white heart-shaped flowers. Her leaves are slim and tidy. In regions with a rigid climate, it is customary to cultivate Bleeding-Heart  as an annual plant.

Cultivation

The exposure that the Bleeding-heart prefers is certainly the half shadows, though in the cooler regions it can be located in the sun. In areas with mild winter winters, the Bleeding-heart can be cultivated in the ground without the need to provide special protection. In colder areas, on the other hand, it is preferable to put it in a pot, so that it can be moved to more sheltered areas to protect it from frosts. It is also advisable to cover it with a suitable fabric to prevent the leaves from freezing and consequently spoiling them.

The  Bleeding Heart needs to be watered on a regular basis, it is also positive for this plant to have a soil is always damp, but care should be taken to standing water that could affect the flowering. With the arrival of winter it is good to decrease the number of watering, if not even permanently interrupt if the temperatures drop too low.
IBleeding heart’s preferred soil is alkaline and well-drained, so it is advisable to lay the plant on the bottom of the cobblestone or pebble hole before engrafting.The multiplication of this plant takes place during sowing in the autumn in protected environments such as greenhouses. Before being planted in the ground, plants of Bleeding heart are to be grown in pots for twelve months. You can multiply it also by dividing the bushes, provided that the roots are in each one.

Diseases and cures

The Bleeding heart plants are often subject to attack by snails and caterpillars that like to feed on its leaves damaging the beauty of the plant. On other occasions the flowers and shoots are prey to aphids. To defend the plant from their aggression, it is possible to use an appropriate pesticide at the end of the winter season.A natural remedy to be used in case you notice the presence of these parasites is obtained by boiling a garlic head in a liter and a half of water. When the compound has cooled enough it will vaporize it over the entire plant.

Curiosities

Bleeding heart blooms in May, which is why its extraordinary flowers are used to decorate the altars during the celebration of the Virgin. That is why bleeding heart is also known as the Heart of Mary.