In Europe there is a belief: if you want to meet your love, break the center. This is the name of a garden flower Broken heart, planting and caring for which are simple even in the conditions of the Non-Black Earth Region and Siberia.
Its long, thin flower stalks with small pink or red hearts decorated the front gardens of many homeowners back in the last century.
The ornamental perennial plant begins to bloom around mid-May.
There are several different types, the flowering dates of which do not coincide and allow you to decorate your garden with unusual plants until the fall.
Recently, many varieties of foreign selection with unusual flower or leaf color have appeared.
All species have one characteristic in common: an unopened flower looks like a miniature pink, white, yellow or lilac heart 2 cm in diameter.
They are collected on long peduncles in graceful brushes. Heart-shaped flowers open as if splitting in the middle.
At the same time, the long petals of the inner row become visible. Depending on the variety and type of dicentra, they can be contrastingly colored in white, purple, yellow or pink.
Most known species have dissected greenish-gray leaves with dark red or purple petioles.
It looks very decorative in group plantings, even when the plant has faded. In some species (Dicentra canadensis), the carved leaves have the usual herbaceous tint, and the breeding form Gold heart (Gold heart, 2004) has golden foliage.
The height of the bushes ranges from 60 - 80 cm (magnificent dicentra, or spectabilis) to 15 - 20 cm (vagrant and hooded).
When using broken heart flowers in landscape design, such a variety of sizes makes it possible to decorate borders and perennial flower beds with them.
There is even a climbing species with compact clusters of yellow flowers, on the basis of which some varieties have been created for vertical gardening.
Large bushes planted on the lawn can be used as tapeworms, and small ones can be used to decorate alpine slides.
How to plant dicentra on the site?
When choosing a place for purchased broken heart bushes, you need to take into account that plants of different types require and different conditions.
A common feature For all, there is a requirement for soil and air moisture. Living in the lower tier of forests and on coastal mountain slopes, dicentras are considered psychrophytes, that is, moisture-loving plants.
This does not mean that they will do well in swampy soil. When choosing a location in a central garden, you need to select an area on a slope or in an elevated part of the garden, where there is a natural outflow of excess moisture.
If the area is relatively flat, then when planting you should make a good drainage “cushion” of sand or crushed stone at least 10 - 15 cm thick.
To plant bushes tall varieties, it is advisable to use fertile, but light and breathable soil.
A mixture suitable for home use garden soil With leaf humus, well-rotted (last year's) manure from cucumber beds or peat.
Low-growing dicentra wandering is best planted on sandy and sandy loamy light soils with good drainage.
The area for planting needs to be dug up in the fall, adding humus (0.5 buckets per 1 m²). The digging depth should be significant - about 40 cm, so that the soil is very loose.
On heavy soils, you can additionally add sand at 0.3 - 0.5 buckets per 1 m² and create good drainage. Dicentra is imprisoned next spring when the soil thaws.
Lighting requirements also vary markedly:
- for magnificent dicentra, it is better to choose slightly shaded areas; in bright sun the bush will be small, but the plant does not tolerate full shade;
- most medium-growing varieties of broken heart (graceful, Canadian, excellent, etc.) can be planted in partial shade or sun;
- climbing (D. scandens and varieties based on it) can be grown even on north side buildings and other shaded places, use for landscaping gazebos;
- Dicentra vagrant is a light-loving species and prefers open sunny places.
By choosing the right locations for several varieties, you can enjoy the flowering of broken heart from mid-May to September. In Siberia, flowering continues until autumn frosts.
Despite the demanding soil and differences in sunlight requirements, caring for plants is relatively easy.
Dicentra bushes will require the main care during the hot, dry period. It is necessary to water the plant in time to a depth of more than 1 - 2 cm, preventing the soil under the bushes from drying out.
After watering upper layer the soil is loosened, providing free access of oxygen to the roots of the bush.
To maintain soil moisture and looseness on long term It is recommended to mulch it with chopped tree bark, sawdust or similar porous material.
The protective layer also provides good protection against annual weeds that cannot grow through the mulch.
In the Non-Black Earth Region and Siberia, severe return frosts occur in spring. This usually happens after a period of warm weather in April, when many flower crops are growing.
A frost-sensitive broken heart may lose its flower fronds and leaves if care is not taken to provide shelter if the forecast is unfavorable.
You can protect the plant with non-woven material, burlap, draped over a thick wire frame installed near the bush.
It is believed that the simple operation of cutting off flowering shoots extends the flowering period of the entire plant, allowing it to form new arrows.
Preparation for winter involves removing the entire above-ground part of the bush. Foliage and stems should be cut at a height of 4 - 5 cm from the ground level.
After this, the soil around the dicentra must be covered with a layer of spruce branches or straw or other mulching material. The frost resistance of the plant allows it to be grown without shelter in regions where there is good snow cover and the temperature does not drop below -25°C.
In other cases, you should take care of the dicenter and protect it in case of severe frosts.
How to propagate dicentra?
There are several ways to plant dicentra in your garden. Most often used vegetative methods reproduction:
- cuttings;
- dividing the bush;
- propagation by parts of rhizomes (root cuttings).
In Russian conditions, the plant does not have suitable pollinating insects, so seeds are set very rarely and in small quantities.
But in gardening companies you can buy bags of seeds of species and breeding dicentras.
Growing from seeds is not particularly popular, because with this method of propagation the plant blooms only 3–4 years after sowing.
It is produced directly into the ground before winter, covering the crops with lutrasil. It is advisable to sow at a later date, when the soil temperature does not exceed +15°C. They will emerge only in the spring.
If seed material is purchased in winter, sowing can be done in February-March. Germination occurs at a temperature of +18...+20°C after 1 month.
After 2 true leaves appear, the seedlings can be planted into separate pots. In May, you can already plant the grown dicentra.
Dicentra, planting and care in open ground are carried out according to general rules, will delight you with long flowering.
Vegetative propagation of dicentra involves the use of parts of the bush. Dicentra is beautiful, or graceful, and its relatives tolerate replanting well once every 3-4 years (in spring or autumn). In this case, you can disassemble the bush into several separate ones, planting them in other places in the garden.
Green shoots are used for cuttings. Dicentra magnificent reproduces in this way only in early spring.
In other species, it is possible to root pieces of shoots throughout the season. Cuttings 10 - 15 cm long should be planted in loose soil and place under cover to maintain air humidity.
You can also plant root cuttings. Pieces of roots 10-20 cm long should be buried in moist soil.
Sprouts will appear in 4 - 5 weeks. On permanent place they should only be planted the following spring.
Dicenters in landscape design
Both tall and low-growing varieties of dicentra or broken heart are suitable for creating beautiful compositions and mixborders.
One of the most common representatives of tall varieties can be considered the Valentine variety.
This is a powerful plant up to 80 - 100 cm tall, with long peduncles spread to the sides. The heart-shaped flowers are bright pink.
When blooming, the inner petals of contrasting color become visible. white. The variety appeared quite a long time ago and managed to win its fans.
New breeding forms: dicentra Spectabilis alba (Alba) and Purple avrora (Purple Dawn) have an unusual color for this species.
These are varieties with completely white and purple and white flowers. The bushes are powerful, like other varieties of Dicentra magnificent, but slightly lower than the previous variety: they reach only 60 cm in height even in a semi-shaded place. Flowering dates for both varieties are mid-May and June.
Among the medium-growing graceful dicentral varieties, varieties can be represented by variations of white (Aurora, Ivory Hearts), rich red (Burning Hearts) and mauve (King of Hearts).
Their bushes differ from previous varieties not only in height (up to 40 cm), but also in appearance.
Each flower arrow carries compact tassels of 5 - 8 buds. Long dark stems stand out effectively against the background of bluish foliage. These varieties begin to bloom in June and continue until autumn.
Among the miniature representatives are Canadian (pink), cap (white), exceptional (lilac) dicentras.
These varieties are rarely taller than 20 cm. They can be integrated into the garden landscape as borders or alpine plants.
The thickets of Canadian broken heart under the canopy of trees are very beautiful. Their flowering period is extended, and in a cool, rainy summer, the tassels of hearts will delight you until the fall.
You can combine a broken heart with delicate spring flowers: tulips, daffodils, doronicum and others, planting them as a lining for a large bush.
For small representatives, small-bulbous species (muscari, scillas, etc.) are suitable.
In the summer, clumps of low varieties under bushes with dark foliage, shading the bluish or grassy-green carved leaves and light flowers, will also look charming.
Small-sized dicentra plants can be successfully grown both in flowerpots and indoors.
Exceptional dicentra is especially good for winter forcing. When growing in a container, you will need to carefully ensure that the soil does not dry out. If there is a lack of moisture, the plant stops blooming and goes into a dormant state.
The climbing forms (Golden Tears, Golden Vine) have yellow flowers, the only ones among their relatives.
climbing vines look great on trellises with clematis and annual bindweeds. For landscaping shaded areas, it is difficult for them to find neighbors, so they can solo on the northern walls of buildings.
This unpretentious plant does not require complex care, but can add extraordinary charm to shady and semi-shaded corners of the garden.
Fragility also contributes to this long peduncles, and the unusual shape of the flower, and beautiful carved leaves.
Diseases and pests
Dicentra splendid rarely gets sick and is affected by pests.
Sometimes it gets ringspot and tobacco mosaic. Spots and stripes appear on young leaves, and on mature leaves there are elongated light rings that look like an oak leaf.
If the plant's flower stalks are bent, it means that it has been affected by mycoplasma disease. Soon the plant will stop growing and the flowers will turn yellow or green.
Thanks to timely preventive treatments Fungicides can prevent the proliferation of the above diseases.
Of all the variety of pests, the dicentra is affected only by aphids, which can be easily destroyed using Biotlin treatments.
There is a plant called Dicentra, or Broken Heart, the flower comes from the Fumariaceae. It was brought to Europe from Asia (Japan, China) in the 19th century. The French, lovers of romantic legends, call it “Jeanette’s flower,” telling the story of the beautiful Jeanette and her misadventures. The girl Jeanette went into the forest to get the gifts of nature, but soon got lost and began to call for help. But only the howl of wolves was her answer. It was getting dark. Suddenly, a handsome young man on a bay stallion appeared from behind the trees, rode up to the upset girl and calmed her down. Then he put her behind him and took her to her home village. She was so frightened and stunned that she did not even have time to ask the name of the savior. The girl in love, remembering the stranger's farewell kiss, waited and grieved for a whole year, and one morning outside the window the ringing of the bells of a wedding trio of white horses was heard. Running out onto the porch, she saw that it was her savior riding with his young wife. Her heart could not stand it, she fell to the ground and turned into a flower of unearthly beauty. And people called it “Jeanette’s flower.”
Dicentra is an unpretentious plant and is valued in decorative floriculture for the original shape of its flowers.
Russians call this flower for its appearance: a small double heart with a crack. The name “dicentra” is translated from Greek as (“dis” and “kentron” - “twice” and “spur”).
Plant varieties
There are the following types and varieties of dicentra:
Dicentra canadensis begins to bloom in mid-spring.
- Dicentra hybrid (exceptional) - a low plant, silver-colored leaves, narrow, flowers absorbed different colors and inclusions.
- Dicentra is beautiful - a low plant with green leaves, which came to us from North America. Loves shady areas, suitable for planting along paths, near curbs.
- Dicentra canadensis - small plants (30 cm tall) with white flowers. Canadians call it “squirrel corn.”
- Dicentra exceptional is similar to Dicentra beautiful. Blooms pink flowers twice: in May and September. It grows incredibly quickly and, if there is no care and control, can overrun a short time large areas.
- Dicentra climbing. The Himalayas boast of this species of dicentra with yellow flowers, growing freely on the slopes of these mountains.
- Dicentra bicuculla is similar to the Canadian one. The poison obtained from this plant is used in medicine to make anticonvulsants.
"Broken Heart" in the Garden
Dicentra is a stately perennial plant up to 1 m high. The leaves of the plant are lacy, greenish, shimmering or silvered. They themselves are quite interesting and may well decorate a flower garden after flowering has finished.
Still, this plant captivates with its unique flowers: small flat hearts gathered together, and a white “tongue” peeks out from the open lower part. The slightest breath of wind causes the hearts to sway a little. The color of the dicentra is white or pink. The flowering period is from May to September, the peak of flowering is June. In early autumn the leaves turn yellow and die until spring.
Rules for growing the “Jeannette flower”
A mandatory technique when growing dicentra is feeding with superphosphate.
Dicentra magnificent requires moist, loose soil fertilized with humus. Grateful for your care, the flower will grow and bloom wildly. What the magnificent dicentra does not like is stagnation of water - its rhizomes quickly begin to rot. At the same time, it does not tolerate drought; if it suffers from lack of water, early death should be expected. As soon as the first shoots are visible from the ground in early spring, the soil around the “broken heart” flower should be carefully loosened several centimeters deep and mulched. Care must be taken to ensure that periodically recurring night frosts do not adversely affect sensitive plants.
To prevent it from freezing, the dicentra is covered with a cloth or spruce paws. A denser cover may harm it, because... The plant, in principle, tolerates winter well in our latitudes. After wilting, the leaves of the plant are removed and small sections are left. In general, caring for the dicentra plant is not difficult. Grows well in both shade and sun. Planting it in shaded areas will help prolong its flowering, but in this case it will bloom later. Another way to prolong flowering is to remove dead flowers. Do not forget to add soil under the plants every year, as the roots growing upward are exposed and the plant may get sick and die.
One of the conditions for healthy flowering is the presence of sufficient feeding with superphosphate. To stimulate flowering next year watered with organic (up to 5 kg/sq.m.) and nitrogen-containing fertilizers, because the dicentra likes to “refuel” tightly before the cold weather.
Another trick that many people use experienced gardeners, - removal of flower stalks after flowering. And you can wait for flowering again. Dicentra can be planted in a group with primrose and peonies, lungwort and daffodils.
You can use several methods of propagation and planting: roots, sprouts and seeds.
The option of propagation by seeds is not very good, since in our latitudes most often they either do not ripen or remain undeveloped and weak. If you still manage to collect seeds, they should be sown immediately.
Dicentra propagates by dividing the rhizome; this is usually done in May, when the first shoots appear.
A good solution is to plant and propagate by cuttings or roots. It is better to do this at least every 4-5 years.
Ground cuttings must be cut in June-July. To get fresh cuttings, you need to carefully remove the top soil layer at the base of the bush and cut off the cutting with a sharp tool. The cuttings take root slowly (about a month). To stimulate growth, you need to hold them in a special solution and then plant them in the ground, not forgetting to cover them. The grown flowers are assigned to a permanent place of “residence” next year.
If you propagate a flower by roots, you need to dig them out very carefully from the soil and free them from the ground. Give the roots a few hours to “rest” so that they wilt and are not so brittle. Each root should have 2-4 “eyes” so that the bush grows lush. It is necessary to place the roots in a hole buried 40 cm and flavored with humus (mullein). You need to be careful with the secreted juice of the dicentra, it is better to work with gloves, because the alkaloids contained in the rhizome can cause severe irritation of the skin, mucous membranes of the eyes and even the stomach!
Adding straw or reeds can help you get fluffy soil. You need to make an oblong hole, put grass there, press it down, and sprinkle it on top of the soil.
You should deal with excess water in the flowerbed immediately by digging ditches and filling in the drainage.
It is necessary to pay attention to the degree of dryness of the soil: during drought, water the plant generously, and the presence of a sufficient amount of mulch will prevent overheating.
When looking for a place for a dicentra, you can pay attention to its location near bushes, borders, and along paths.
You can try planting dicentra in splendid isolation in a pot at home or in a greenhouse - it looks more than impressive. In autumn, the most fleshy plants are dug up after the foliage has disappeared and planted in huge pots with soil from the garden, first mixed with sand from the river and leaves. Place in a cold room until mid-winter and water rarely. Then the room is changed to a warmer one and the amount of watering is increased. When the plant begins to grow, move it closer to light and warmth. The flowers will awaken in February and will delight you until April. It is necessary to remember about feeding. Fertilizer can be used for indoor plants. As soon as the dicentra plant fades, it is taken away basement. In the spring it is planted in a garden bed, and in the fall you can plant it again at home.
Growing the broken heart flower is worth all the trouble. The romantic appearance, tenderness and unpretentiousness can please even the most demanding professional gardener. Its ease of planting and care will help you fall in love with it at first sight. And the “company” nature of the flower will eliminate the need to search for a separate place where it will be planted and further grow.
Many flowers are popular among gardeners due to their amazing appearance. Some crops attract the eye with outlandish colorful leaves, while others have attractive bright colors strange shape. Thus, it is difficult to pass by a plant with lacy foliage and flowers in the shape of small hearts. This is exactly what dicentra looks like - an unpretentious perennial that can decorate any garden plot. This plant is also known as broken heart. Let's clarify for readers of this article information on caring for a broken heart and planting such a flower, and provide a photo of the dicentra.
There are many varieties of dicentra that you can grow in your garden. They differ in size - they can grow up to thirty centimeters - one and a half meters, as well as in the color of flowers and leaves.
Here it is, a broken heart in the photo
How to plant dicentra on your site?
Readers of Popular About Health need to prepare in advance for the landing of a broken heart (dicenter). Since the fall it is necessary to choose for her appropriate place on your site and start cultivating the soil. This plant feels normal in partial shade, in the shade and even in the sun. True, with some lack of lighting, its buds open a little later, and in the sun the bushes do not grow much, but they bloom longer.
Dicentra is a very moisture-loving crop. It thrives on drained, well-moistened soils that contain a sufficient amount of humus and allow moisture and air to pass through well. It must be remembered that stagnation of water can lead to rotting of the large roots of such a plant. Therefore, when planting it, you need to organize good drainage, and heavy soil must be diluted with peat or river sand.
The selected area must be thoroughly dug up, going about forty centimeters deep. Next, you need to add humus to the soil - for each square meter plot, it is necessary to use three kilograms of fertilizer. As a mineral feed, it is worth using standard fertilizer for garden flowers, ten to fifteen grams of this substance must be diluted in a bucket of water.
The easiest way to grow dicentra in your own area is by dividing the rhizomes. It is best to do this in the last month of summer, closer to autumn. The first step is to carefully dig up the roots, then remove them from the ground and dry them a little.
The grafted roots become elastic and therefore will not break. Next, the rhizome should be divided into divisions so that each of them contains three or four buds necessary for the formation of shoots. It is advisable to sprinkle the sections with ash. The resulting segments should be planted in the ground in a place that is not very well lit and watered thoroughly using warm water. After rooting, it is allowed to transplant new plants to their usual place of growth.
It is necessary to dig holes in the prepared flowerbed; the optimal interval between plants is thirty to forty centimeters. It is necessary to place the rooted rhizomes in the hole, sprinkle them with soil, and then compact them a little. After planting, the plants should be watered with warm water.
Demands of a broken heart for care
The broken heart flower is not capricious at all. Such a plant only needs periodic watering, loosening the soil, and weeding. He also needs to be fed sometimes.
So, in order for the dicentra to bloom well and brightly, in the spring it should be nourished using superphosphate. During the entire growing season, it is necessary to carry out three or four additional feedings. For optimal formation of new buds, it is advisable to fertilize with nitrogen after the flowering of a broken heart.
As for watering, the soil near the center should remain constantly moist, but not soggy. If waterlogged, the roots of the flower will simply rot and the plant will die. In the hot season, watering should be more intense, and to make caring for a broken heart easier, it is advisable to mulch the soil using peat or humus. It must be laid out in a fairly thick layer near the base of the plant. After rains or watering, the soil around the broken heart should be carefully loosened, but not deeply.
In order for the dicentra to bloom longer and please the eye, it is advisable to systematically cut off the already faded brushes from the bush. And closer to winter, it is necessary to completely eliminate the above-ground part of the plant, leaving only stumps equal in height to five centimeters, no more. To protect a broken heart from frost, it is worth covering it with non-woven material for the winter.
In spring, the cover from the plant must be removed in a timely manner, but it is advisable to hide the emerging sprouts from return frosts, covering them with a fairly thick plastic film.
It must be remembered that dicentra feels normal in the same place in the garden for a long time. But after five or six years it is still worth moving it to another place. It is also advisable to divide the bush every two years so that the thick rhizomes do not rot and the plant does not die.
Dicentra can be an excellent decoration for a personal plot. A photo of a broken heart will not allow you to say otherwise. Attractive flowers will please the eye for a long time and will not require special attention from the owner.
The exotic dicentra is very popular with many gardeners due to its spectacular appearance, unusual shape, as well as a subtle and delicate aroma. As a representative of herbaceous perennial plants, this heart-shaped flower is characterized by unpretentiousness and ease of care. In nature, there are more than two dozen varieties of dicentra, but only ten of them are cultivated. This unusual plant came to Europe from Japan at the beginning of the 19th century. It is widespread in the Far East, in North America, China and the Korean Peninsula.
Features of growing dicentra as a garden crop
Dicentra is rightfully one of the most popular and beautiful ornamental plants for garden plot. It can grow with equal success both in dark areas near trees and in well-lit areas. Despite the fact that this is a representative of the exotic flora, it is not difficult to care for him at all. Having familiarized yourself with all the rules and recommendations, even a novice gardener can cope with this task without any problems.
Residents of Europe have been well acquainted with the dicentra since 1816. IN different countries this decorative flower called differently: in France “Jeanette’s heart”, in Germany “heart flower”, and in Great Britain “lady in the bath”. Other names are also often found - “broken heart”, “crying heart”, “lyre flower”, “locks and keys”, “heart flower”, “double spur”, etc.
Role in landscape design and photos of application examples
Dicentra has become one of the favorites among plants used for landscape design due to its beauty and unpretentiousness. This herbaceous plant For open ground. It looks very impressive both in group and single plantings.
Dicentra in the garden goes well with conifers and tall crops 
A good decision there will be a dicentra planting on a multi-level border flower bed 
The Alpine slide looks original and fresh with a dicenter 
Ideally matched shades of dicenters in a wall flower bed
One of the most popular methods of using dicentra is arranging beautiful alpine slides, where it plays a leading role.
Dicentra fits perfectly with plants coniferous species, as well as with any tall seedlings. It can be successfully used to decorate flower beds, mixborders, as well as traditional flower beds.
What is the best way to plant - in open ground or in a tub?
Different varieties of dicentra have growing characteristics. Most species feel excellent when planted in open ground. However, some varieties are suitable for cultivation indoors - therefore, tubs are used for these purposes.
In any case, the planting site must be selected in advance, focusing on the type and quality of the soil - it must be fertile and well-drained.
Planting should be done in spring period. Therefore, the previous autumn it is necessary to dig up the soil in the selected planting site and add high-quality mineral fertilizing. Due to the fact that dicentra is characterized by a developed root system, the diameter and depth of the planting hole must reach at least one meter. The roots of the plant are sensitive to excess moisture in the soil, so drainage will be required.
When and for how long does a herbaceous plant bloom?
Different varieties have different flowering periods. Dicentra the Magnificent delights the eye with its flowers literally from the first days of May to mid-June. Dicentra Beautiful begins to bloom in early summer and ends in autumn. After the plants fade, their above-ground part remains in a state of hibernation until the next spring. True, in some cases, re-blooming is observed in August, which continues until the end of September.
The Spectabilis variety with its luxurious inflorescences is very thermophilic.
What climate is this flower suitable for?
Dicentra, being a heat-loving plant, prefers a subtropical climate. It also does well in temperate climates, but can only be grown as an annual plant.
Description and photos of popular varieties
There are several cultivated varieties that differ in color, shape, flowering periods, as well as some other parameters.
Gorgeous
The most common variety with tall inflorescences
It is the most common variety, which is characterized by heart-shaped pink flowers, complemented by a white “droplet” and collected in brushes. This plant variety reaches a height of one meter in shady areas and 30 centimeters in sunny areas. Its flowering period is short - from May to June. The outer and back sides of the leaves have different shades.
Magnificent is the most capricious variety. It needs regular, but not too abundant watering. And when high level groundwater the flower will feel unwell.
Valentina
This variety has bright red flowers and low growing bushes
This variety is characterized by a pronounced red hue with an attractive white center. In appearance, Valentina’s bush is very compact and neat. This flower does equally well in shady areas. Caring for it involves regular watering and periodic fertilizing.
Spectabilis prefers shady areas of the garden
Spectabilis is another name for Dicentra splendid. This plant is native to China, Korea and Manchuria. Spectabilis grows best in moist and nutritious soils in semi-shaded areas. Summer drought and the presence of nearby groundwater are detrimental to this plant.
Beautiful
Dicentra Beautiful comes from America, it blooms all summer
Very gentle and beautiful plant with flowers of a pleasant lavender hue. North America became the birthplace of Dicentra Beautiful. The height of the bush usually reaches no more than 60 cm. It blooms throughout the whole summer until mid-autumn - from June to September. The flowers have a very refined and graceful, slightly elongated shape.
landscape designers love these white flowers, which fit harmoniously into alpine slides
Alba is one of the varieties of Dicentra Magnificent, which is impressively distinguished by its snow-white flowers that densely cover the bush. Average height plants - 100 cm. Spring flowering period - from May to June.
Aurora - low-growing variety height 25 cm
Aurora is a type of dicentra beautiful. The height of the bush reaches approximately 25–30 cm. The flowers have a characteristic heart-shaped shape and are white in color. This plant is unpretentious to soil quality, so both nutritious garden and poor sandy varieties are suitable for it. The flowering period lasts from late May to July.
Variety with large snow-white inflorescences
White dicentra is recognized as one of the most luxurious and solemn varieties of this ornamental plant. Its leaves are quite large, and delicate white flowers are collected in graceful racemes.
Low-growing hybrid variety, looks great in border flower beds
The name of this variety literally translates as “flaming hearts” due to the rich red hue of the flowers and their curly shape, reminiscent of flames. It's a hybrid fast growing variety, which is ideal for growing both in open ground and in tubs. It reaches a height of 30 centimeters.
Heart of Gold has bright yellow foliage and is used in alpine slides
The Gold Heart variety, or Golden Heart, differs from all previous varieties in its pronounced golden-yellow hue of leaves. The flowers of this plant are flat-shaped and pink in color with a white center. Flowering begins at the end of May or in the first days of June - it lasts about 30 days.
This variety blooms in areas with moderately moist soils.
The Love Hearts variety is characterized by soft white figured flowers with a pronounced purple center. For planting dicentra love hearts, it is recommended to select sunny or shaded areas with light, nutritious and moderately moist soils.
The heart-shaped flowers determine the name of the variety.
Broken Heart is another popular name for Dicentra splendor, given to it because of the characteristic shape of the flowers.
The golden dose blooms before frost and requires shelter for the winter.
It differs from other varieties in its bright yellow flowers, which delight the eye the longest - from the beginning of June until the onset of the first frost. The height of the stem can reach two meters. One inflorescence contains up to 14 flowers. During the first three years after planting, the plant requires reliable shelter. winter period. In the future, this need will no longer exist.
Hybrid with carmine-pink flowers loves shady, damp places
Luxuriant is a hybrid dicentra variety characterized by an attractive carmine pink hue. The flowering period of the hybrid lasts from May to September. Optimal conditions for it are shady areas and nutritious, moist soil.
Early variety, begins to bloom in May
Pink dicentra is distinguished by the rich pink hue of its flowers. It grows on moderately moist soils. The flowering period lasts from May to July.
Reproduction methods
For planting dicentras, both seeds and root cuttings can be used. The method using seedlings is not used in this case.
Seeds are also not suitable for these purposes. Despite all its laboriousness, the method is not reliable enough. This is due to the fact that the dicentra itself produces a small number of seeds. Some of the plant varieties are not at all capable of producing seeds in temperate latitudes. Therefore, in order to ensure good shoots, it is preferable to use the following methods:
- division by rhizome;
- propagation by cuttings;
- indoor forcing;
Division by rhizome
In order to prevent diseases, you need to:
- sprinkle a sufficient amount of wood ash on top.
- After the shoots have taken root well, they should be transplanted to a permanent place - a flower garden or flowerbed. The optimal frequency of this procedure is once every five or six years.
Dicentra must be replanted in the spring. It is very important to choose a moment while the shoots are still dormant or have just begun to grow.
Planting and caring for a plant in open ground involves several successive steps:
- dig small holes in the ground (a distance of 35 cm must be maintained between them);
- plant three or four parts of rhizomes in each hole;
- fill the holes with planting material a sufficient layer of soil and compacted well;
- pour with slightly warm water
Planting cuttings in spring
Propagation by cuttings should be carried out in spring. This requires:
Within a month, the cuttings will take root. However, they need to be planted in a permanent place only after a year.
Indoor forcing
Simple, effective and in a reliable way is indoor forcing:
- in August, dig up the rhizomes and transplant them into special flowerpots or pots;
- expose plants to light;
- fulfill regular watering to protect the soil from drying out.
If you choose a method using seeds, you need to sow in September. Optimal temperature for seed germination is 18–20⁰С.
Garden care from the moment of planting in open ground until autumn
Proper care at various stages will ensure beauty and health.
How to grow and care during growth and flowering: watering, fertilizing, pruning
An important step in caring for any variety is proper watering. In this case, the volume of liquid used is determined by the amount of precipitation and air temperature. During the summer heat, subject to a long absence of precipitation, the plant will require more intensive watering than in other seasons. But in order to prevent rotting of the roots, the soil must be protected from excess moisture.
In a shady spot near the house, a broken heart grows best.
Being exotic flower, the center needs quality mineral fertilizer. The application of special complex fertilizers intended for flowering plants should be carried out along with watering 1–2 times throughout the season. Have a beneficial effect on flowering plants fertilizers with a significant nitrogen content.
In order to ensure dicenter correct height and the absence of diseases, it is necessary to promptly trim dried and wilted parts, yellowed leaves and stems.
Care after flowering. Does it hibernate and how to prepare for winter?
As soon as the flowering period ends, all stems must be carefully cut to the root.
After such pruning, the remaining small stumps should be covered with pine or spruce needles or covered with a 5–8 cm layer of peat. This procedure, called “mulching,” will help the plant to successfully overwinter. It is not recommended to make a thicker layer of cover, as this can lead to rotting of the rhizomes.
You can remove the shelter only after the onset of full spring. It is not recommended to do this in early spring, since night frosts can destroy the plant.
What problems do gardeners have with growing
Video about the features of dicentra and caring for it in the garden
Useful reviews about growing
Good day to all! This flower is not new to any gardener. This is already an old-timer in our flower beds and I have known him since childhood. Although my grandmother loved flowers, she called them all popular names. So she called Ditsenra “Broken Heart.” This name still exists today and not many people know the botanical name of this beauty. I won’t describe much, there is plenty of information now, just some of my own own experience. What do you need to know if you decide to plant Dicenra? The very first thing is that this plant does not tolerate stagnant water and very wet soils. Its root is very fragile and watery, and with excess moisture in the soil it begins to rot during dormancy. And Dicentra has a lot of dormant periods, since this plant can be classified as a primrose. It blooms together with tulips, that is, very early, and by the beginning of summer it already goes into hibernation.
review_1845579.html
Today I want to talk about an unusual open ground flower called “Dyklitra” or “Dicentra”; it is also popularly called “Broken Heart” because the inflorescence of this extraordinary flower looks like a heart with a torn edge and an arrow stuck into it. The flower bush itself looks very fragile and delicate, does not grow high from 15 to 90 cm, depending on the type of flower. It belongs to the smoke family, native to North America; in nature there are only 19 species of this plant. By the way, it is known that the British call this flower “Bleeding Heart”. Diklitra has been growing in our front garden for several years, and every year it captivates with its beauty and unusualness.
Olimpik2012
review_389129.html
I want to tell you about a flower that has the sad name “Broken Heart.” This is a perennial flower that grows up to a meter in height, an excellent plant for the garden and personal plot. Not whimsical, it can be planted either near a tree or in an open clearing. very beautiful flowers.. as if a heart is broken into two parts.. and bleeding..
Belem
//irecommend.ru/content/est-v-nem-kakaya-taina
Dicentra is an amazingly beautiful plant with heart-shaped flowers. It will be an ideal garden decoration, taking its rightful place on an alpine hill or a large flower bed. Careful care will ensure the health and attractive appearance of lush and luxurious dicentra bushes.
Often gardeners do not know which plant to plant in a shaded area or what to place in the flowerbed between phlox, hostas and other summer plants as they grow. An undeservedly forgotten flower will help solve these problems. Dicentra magnificent, which most amateur gardeners call "broken heart", blooms in spring gardens one of the first. She really is gorgeous. With its flowers, the dicentra is not similar to any of the plants familiar to us. Many legends are associated with her name, because the shape of the flower resembles a heart.
Name
The very name of “dicenter” consists of two words: “di” - two, “kentron” - spurs, that is, consisting of two spurs. The name of the broken heart flower comes from the fact that it is shaped like a heart, it is called broken because the edge of the flower is divided into two parts.
Dicentra came to Europe from Japan at the beginning of the 19th century. Since then it has spread throughout the continent.
What is the name of the broken heart flower in different countries?
In France it is called the heart of Jeannette. This name echoes what we call the broken heart flower. Legend has it that Jeanette fell in love with the guy who saved her. But then I met him with another girl. Her heart broke from grief and became a flower.
In Germany, where the name flower of the heart is assigned to the dicentra, a girl who wants to meet her groom needs to hide a twig with hearts in her bosom. In Poland it is called the slipper of the Mother of God.
What does a broken heart flower look like?
Description
About twenty species of this flower of the smoke family are known. This is a perennial plant, but every year its above-ground part disappears. They grow in China, North America, and the Far East. The height reaches both 30 cm and one meter. It depends on the type and variety. The root is thick and fleshy. The leaves are dissected, light green, with a bloom. They can decorate a flowerbed even without flowers.
Dicentra flowers are slightly flattened in one plane, up to 2 cm in size, hanging on drooping branches like droplets. Stems with flowers are placed above the bush. The color of the petals is dark red, pink, light pink. Nowadays, dicentra plants with white and even yellow flowers. White ones peek out from under the colorful upper petals. From a distance they look like an arrow that pierced the heart.
Every year in the spring, new branches form from replacement buds at the bottom of the bush, so the plant grows quickly. Each leaf has buds that awaken after the main leaf dies and bloom in July.
After the broken heart fades, a box is formed where the black seeds are located.
Kinds
The following varieties of dicentra are distinguished.
Far Eastern: dicentra “foreign”, “magnificent”.
American species: “beautiful”, “wonderful”.
Many hybrid species with flowers have been developed through crossing different varieties and a variety of leaves.
- Dicentra "magnificent" is our broken heart. The height of the bush usually ranges from 30 cm to 60 cm, sometimes reaching 1 meter. The branches are thick, light green. The leaves are large, pinnate, dissected, light green above, bluish on the reverse side. The flowers are pink and up to three centimeters in size. The length of the racemes is about 20 cm. The peduncles are tall, rising above the bush. Flowering begins in the last weeks of May and lasts a little over a month. Then the bush falls apart, the stems die and dry out. But in mid-summer, under optimal conditions, it can grow and bloom again.
By cutting off the faded stems, we open up a view of the summer flowers, which will subsequently open in a place located near the dicentra.
Usually the broken heart flower tolerates frost well, but is sometimes damaged by spring return frosts. Does not like dicentra and snowless frosty autumn.
Broken-hearted garden flowers cannot tolerate drought and react to it by prematurely withering leaves.
The variety with white flowers grows slightly lower than those with pink flowers.
A recently created species whose leaves have a golden color.
- Dicentra "beautiful" grows up to thirty centimeters in height. It blooms for a long time, almost until frost. The flowers are 2 cm in size. They are placed on peduncles, 30 pieces on each. Pink petals of varying intensities. Doesn't shed leaves. They come in both green and silver colors. Propagates well by shoots.
- Dicentra "exceptional" is the lowest. It is not known why it received this name, since it grows up to 20 cm in height and does not bloom for a very long time. True, its leaves are beautiful, similar to a fern leaf.
- Dicentra "climbing" is a vine reaching a height of 2 meters. It has poor frost resistance, so when severe frosts often freezes out. If you sow it from seeds in March, the dicentra will have time to bloom.
- Dicentra hooded (Dutchman's breeches) is grown very rarely in our area. It has flowers of an original shape, which their name hints at. A very capricious plant.
Reproduction
Broken Heart is propagated by dividing the bush, cuttings (green and root) and seeds. But the last method is the longest and most irrational way.
Dicentra seeds remain viable for up to two years. They are sown in February. They germinate at a temperature of 18 degrees after 30 days. When they grow up, they are picked and mulched. Cover with fallen leaves for the winter. Dicentra grown in this way will bloom in the third year.
The broken heart flower can be replanted in spring (before flowering) or autumn. This is done after the plant has sprouted in one place for about five years.
In order not to break off the germinating shoots, the dicentra is transplanted very early, as soon as its leaves stick out of the ground. The bush is carefully dug up, cuttings with several shoots are cut, each about 10 cm long. If they are larger, they may break because they are very fragile. Two cuttings are planted in one hole, but not side by side, but leaving a distance of several tens of centimeters between them.
Cuttings of the “beautiful” dicentra are taken in the spring. “Magnificent” produces many shoots, so it can be propagated from cuttings throughout the growing season.
Propagated by parts of the root. Having cut it, the cuttings are planted in the soil in August, constantly moisten it and wait for the sprouts to appear. In the spring they are transplanted to the right place.
Planting
A broken heart is a home flower. All types of dicentra grow well in the sun, partial shade and shade. In shaded areas, flowers are brighter and bloom longer. Bush planted on open area, grows lower than in partial shade.
You should not plant dicentra in the grass. In summer it hardly blooms, so it won’t add any beauty.
The plant needs drainage, especially in places with close adjacent groundwater. Otherwise, the root, which penetrates deep into the ground, will rot and the plant will disappear. Drainage is made from broken bricks or crushed stone. But the flower doesn’t like drought either.
The soil for planting must be fertile and pH neutral. But the bush can also grow on sandy ones. It only dislikes heavy clay soil. Drainage is poured into holes 40 cm deep, the soil is mixed with humus or compost, sand and lime are added. The root is placed in the hole, straightened and covered with prepared soil.
Dicentra is planted on lawns, borders, and flower beds. The broken heart flower looks beautiful next to spring flowers: forget-me-nots, tulips, aquilegias; summer: hostas, ferns.
Care
In spring, many species of dicentra can freeze slightly. In the northern regions, their plantings are covered with a layer of peat 8 cm thick. But even if the bush freezes, thanks a large number dormant buds grow back quickly. However, the flowering period in this case is delayed. Every year, starting from the second year, you need to add new ground, otherwise the roots will be exposed and the plant will freeze.
The bush is watered as needed, mulched or regularly loosened the soil. Its root is deep in the ground and draws moisture from there.
Cutting off spent stems will prolong the flowering time of the dicentra. After the plant has flowered, the stems are cut at a height of 5 cm and covered with ash so that they do not rot. Apply in spring or autumn organic fertilizers. The bush especially loves humus. Can be fertilized with complex mineral fertilizers.
Dicentra gives forcing in early spring or winter.
Diseases and pests
The broken heart flower is practically not affected by diseases and pests. May suffer from ring spotting. For prevention, weeds and aphids are controlled. But the bear chews it with pleasure.
Precautionary measures
Dicentra juice is poisonous. It can cause allergies, poisoning, and in some cases damage to the entire nervous system. Therefore, you only need to wear gloves when working with different parts of the plant.