Bleeding heart plant

Hi, I have the most wonderful bleeding heart plant in my back boarder, but it's got too big, I don't want to get rid of it I just want to reduce it in size (maybe I could take some of it to Shineyland for the plant stall ) can anyone tell me how to split it please?
Thanks in advance

 

Hi @Beckie76
You can divide it by digging it up and using two garden forks, back to back, to split it into smaller pieces. Depending on how old it is, you may find that the central part of it is no longer any good, so dispose of that part.

When I divided mine (previous garden), the piece I put back in the same area sulked for ages and didn't flower until the following year. A piece I gave to a friend absolutely thrived and was twice the size of the one I'd put back in just one season

ETA: give it a good watering before you dig it up though.

 

Hi Beckie,
As they're just coming into flower I wouldn't do anything to it until after it's finished in another couple of months.

 

@"M" it's about 15 years old! Kev bought it for me at our previous house, I dug it up when me moved & literally plonked it into the ground here! It gives me a great show of flowers every year, I had a white one too but I lost that over the really cold winter we had a few years back.
I shall follow your instructions at the weekend & hope for the best!

 

Good point @Anthony Rogers mine is just coming up, I can see how much it's spread , I have a rose which is going to get overgrown by it, maybe I could just cut it back to make sure the Rose gets enough light?

 

In my experience it's ok for it to be done now even though it is going to come into flower soon, no need to wait a couple of months.
By dividing it now, it is far easier to see the younger growth so the older roots can be discarded.

 

@Beckie76

This article explains how to divide a bleeding heart (with pictures! ) I've linked to the full article within the quote:

 

Thanks @"M", now there's no excuses for me to get it wrong! Best I get on to it

 

Indeed! Because then, if you do it now, you should have a good few "babies", that have settled into their pots, just in the nick of time for ...




















... Shineyland!!!!!