Click on image for full screen view.

Dicentra formosa 'Bacchanal' flowers are a deeper red

Dicentra formosa 'Bacchanal' growth habit

The white flowers of 'Aurora'

'Aurora' growth habit

Fumariaceae

D. formosa does not go dormant as does D. spectabilis. Heart-shaped pink, wine-colored, or white flowers rise on racemes above fern-like green or blue-green foliage. Eximia species is native to the Eastern U.S. The Western U.S. species - formosa - is more drought-tolerant. Some cultivars such as 'Luxuriant' are hybrids of the two.

Plant Type: perennial

Plant Form or Habit: rounded/mounded

Plant Use: Makes a nice groundcover or front-of-the-border plant

Propagation:

division

Flower Color:

red
dark red
pink
white

Bloom Period:

late spring
early summer
late summer
early fall

Width: Minimum: 10 inches     Maximum: 18 inches

Foliage Texture: fine

USDA Hardiness Zone: 4

Water Requirements: average

Additional Comments: This plant prefers shade to partial shade, but three of our four cultivars do quite well in full sun. Some lower-leaf necrosis occurs if summer is wet and hot. 'Adrian Bloom' is another cultivar we're watching, but the above three performed better under our somewhat adverse (full-sun) conditions. Rhizomatous. The most common form of propagation is division in early spring or fall, although cuttings can be rooted and the plant can be grown from seed. 'Luxuriant' is vegetatively propagated.