Bleeding Hearts is a false sunflower with no yellow in its flowers at all. New blooms open an intense orange-red and mature to golden orange with red centers, so the plant carries a range of warm tones from July until frost.
Deep green leaves with bronze highlights and nearly black flower stems add to the dramatic look. At 3 to 3½ feet tall it suits the middle or back of a sunny border, and butterflies and bees visit it through late summer.
What it looks like
Single to semi-double daisy flowers about 2½ to 3 inches across; fresh flowers are intense orange-red and older ones soften to golden orange, each with a raised reddish-brown center. Flowers are held on slender, nearly black stems above the foliage. Leaves are triangular and toothed, deep green with bronze highlights. The plant is a bushy, well-branched clump 36 to 40 inches tall and just as wide. At peak bloom it shows a mix of orange-red and golden orange flowers over dark foliage.
Growing it with lavender
Planted behind lavender in the same sunny, well-drained bed, its orange-red flowers and dark stems make a warm backdrop to the purple spikes.
Care
Grow in full sun to light part shade in average, well-drained soil; established plants tolerate dry spells. Hardy in zones 3 to 9. Deadhead spent flowers to extend bloom and cut the plant back after frost.
At a glance
-
Botanical name: Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra
-
Flower color: Orange-red maturing to golden orange with red centers
-
Foliage: Deep green with bronze highlights
-
Growth habit: Bushy, well-branched clump
-
Mature size: 36–40 in tall × 36–40 in wide
-
USDA hardiness zones: 3–9
-
Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
-
Bloom start: Early-July
-
Peak bloom: Early-August
-
Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
-
Deer resistance: Moderately resistant
-
Pollinator value: Great
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.
Lavender companion · grow guide
Community Grower Report
