Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Monday - April 29, 2013
From: East Meadow, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Dicentra Late in Emerging in the Spring
Answered by: Anne Van Nest
QUESTION:
I have had a bleeding heart plant that has come up for over 50 years. This year it did not come up. Is there anything I can do? Is there a chance that it will come up next year or should I assume that the life of this plant is over?ANSWER:
It’s a wonderful achievement to have a bleeding heart (Dicentra sp.) for more than 50 years. Your heirloom plant has certainly lived a long life. As you know there are many situations that cause Dicentra to naturally go dormant after they bloom (heat and drought) but there are also some that can cause a total demise – waterlogged and heavy clay soil. Have patience and see if your plant is just delayed this spring in emerging. If it doesn’t emerge within a reasonable time then some careful excavation around the planting site to see if there is any sign of life present in the fleshy root would be the next step. If there is no sign of life then it probably succumbed because of overly wet roots during the winter or a stem rot last fall. There are many wonderful native Dicentra for you to try if your matriarch has left the garden.
From the Image Gallery
More Wildflowers Questions
Possibility of survival of Genus Castilleja in Wisconsin
April 04, 2005 - In traveling through Texas last week we noticed many many little orange
flowers which are absolutely fascinating. I found a picture of that flower
in your website for Wildflower Days 2005 in the to...
view the full question and answer
More on bluebonnets
March 22, 2004 - My Bluebonnets have taken over my flowerbed. Are there plants that can be planted along with Bluebonnets in a flowerbed?
view the full question and answer
Plant ID–maybe a lupine?
February 02, 2015 - We have a strange plant growing in our flowerbed that we did not knowingly plant. It sprang up last summer and has continued to grow throughout the winter in spite of several freezes. We live just eas...
view the full question and answer
Sowing additional wildflower and grass seeds on steep hillside
January 30, 2006 - Mr. Smarty,
we recently moved to Hot Springs, AR. We have about a 1000 sf hillside area too steep to plant with shrubs etc. We had wildflower seeds scattered last May in this area and the flowers we...
view the full question and answer
Best date for spring bluebonnet blooms for 2015
January 31, 2015 - What is the estimated date range for the best bluebonnet viewing in the Hill Country this year (2015). I have guests from the north planning a visit and we'd like to pick a weekend with great possibi...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |