Dicentra spectabilis White Gold

Dicentra spectabilis White Gold is a new, bright and vigorous variety of Bleeding Heart to decorate shady and moist areas of the garden. Its finely cut foliage has a beautiful yellow-golden hue that serves as a backdrop for its small, sparkling white, heart-shaped spring flowers. This superb woodland perennial perfectly withstands winter and adapts to any ordinary soil that remains moist.

Dicentra White Gold is derived from Dicentra spectabilis, native to forests in eastern Asia, southern Siberia, and Japan. It belongs to the Papaveraceae family, or the Fumariaceae family according to classifications. It is a rhizomatous and deciduous perennial plant, which disappears in winter and reappears in spring. With rapid growth, it forms a bushy clump in a few years that can reach 60 cm (24in) high and 80 cm (32in) wide. This Bleeding Heart 'White Gold' spreads laterally through trailing rhizomes, which allows it to expand if conditions are favourable, giving the plant a rather luxuriant appearance.

Its stems emerge from the ground in spring bearing divided, delicate feathery, very bright, slightly chartreuse-tinged yellow. Flowering occurs in late spring, May-June depending on the climate, and can continue until July if the soil remains sufficiently moist. Otherwise, the Bleeding Heart goes into dormancy in summer. At the tips of the stems, 3 to 15 pendulous flowers appear, measuring 3 to 5 cm (1 to 2in) high and 2 to 3 cm (1in) wide. Each flower is composed of outer petals forming a heart and inner arrow-shaped petals. In 'White Gold', the flowers are pure white. After pollination by insects, they produce pods that contain round and black seeds surrounded by a white, sticky substance.

White Gold Bleeding Heart is truly easy to grow in most regions but does not like climates that are hot and dry in summer. It finds a place in cottage gardens or natural gardens, always in a cool and shady location. It can be paired with other perennials that do not mind competition from tree or shrub roots. Accompany it with Solomon's Seal, Hardy Fuchsias, Corydalis, Creeping Bugleweed, Japanese Anemones, Balkan Foxglove, and a carpet of Periwinkles, for example.

Most Bleeding Hearts go dormant in summer, but this does not have any harmful consequences.