Is Bleeding Heart Deer Resistant?
Yes, and it is one of the better bets in a shady yard. Bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis, still sold as Dicentra spectabilis) is rated in the top "rarely damaged" tier by Rutgers NJAES. The plant is genuinely toxic: every part of it carries isoquinoline alkaloids that are bitter, irritating, and mildly poisonous to mammals. Deer learn that in one bite and never come back. Two things help even more: the foliage is soft but unpleasantly sappy, and old-fashioned bleeding heart goes dormant by midsummer, so it is not even present when deer pressure peaks in a late-summer drought.
Bleeding heart is hardy in zones 3 through 9 but resents heat. Find your zone free with our Growing Zone Lookup and pick the type that suits your summers.
Updated September 2026
A note on numbers. This page gives you spacings, plant counts, depths and timing, not dollar figures. Nursery stock, bare-root shipping and bagged material are priced by your region, your supplier and the season, and we do not set any of it. Work out what you need here, then price the list at two or three local suppliers.
The problem people actually run into is not deer, it is the disappearing act. A gorgeous 3-foot arching plant covered in pink lockets in May turns yellow in June and is gone by July, leaving a hole in the bed. That is normal, healthy behavior for the classic species, and there are two clean ways to plan around it. Both are covered below, along with the types that stay green all season.
Why deer avoid bleeding heart
Deer sample plants and remember the results. Bleeding heart is a plant they only sample once.
1. Isoquinoline alkaloids. The whole plant, roots included, contains compounds in the protopine and isocorydine family. These are the same class of chemicals found in poppies and celandine, and they are bitter, irritating, and toxic in quantity. The North Carolina State Extension toxic plants database lists Lamprocapnos spectabilis as toxic to humans, dogs, cats, and horses, a genuinely different category from the mild irritation a chewed Christmas flower causes. That toxicity is exactly why deer skip it.
2. Sap that irritates on contact. Handling bleeding heart foliage causes mild dermatitis in some people. A deer with a mouthful gets the same response on soft mouth tissue, and that is a memorable lesson.
3. It vanishes at the worst time for deer. Late July through September is when deer pressure on gardens peaks, because wild forage is dry and thin. Old-fashioned bleeding heart is fully dormant by then. A plant that is not there cannot be eaten, which is a form of deer resistance no chemistry can beat.
Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station publishes Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance, the source most nursery tags borrow from. Dicentra sits in the highest grade, "rarely damaged," alongside daffodils, ferns, and lavender. Note the wording carefully. No plant is deer proof. Rutgers caps its own scale short of that claim on purpose.
Is bleeding heart deer resistant year-round?
Effectively yes, and here is why the answer is even better than the rating suggests.
Spring (April to May): safe, with one small caveat. The soft pink shoots that push up in early spring are the most tender the plant ever gets. In a yard with severe deer pressure and almost nothing else green, those shoots occasionally get nipped. Alkaloid levels are present even then, so a deer typically takes one bite and quits. One repellent application when shoots emerge removes the risk entirely.
Late spring (May to June): very safe. Full alkaloid concentration, full size, in bloom. This is the period when deer damage is close to nonexistent.
Summer (July onward): not applicable. The classic species is dormant. Fringed types (D. eximia, D. formosa) stay green all summer and remain safe because they carry the same chemistry.
Fall and winter: not applicable. The plant is underground. There is nothing above the soil for a deer to find, which is a real advantage over evergreen perennials like coral bells that get browsed in a deep-snow February. Our guide on coral bells and deer covers that winter exception in detail.
The one exception across all seasons: fresh transplants. A plant straight from a greenhouse has been fed and watered daily, and it smells of nursery mix rather than of itself. Spray a repellent on planting day and again at two weeks, then stop worrying about it.
Bleeding heart types compared
Deer resistance is equal across the genus, so buy on bloom season, heat tolerance, and whether you want the plant to disappear in July.
| Type / Variety | Botanical Name | Zones | Height | Bloom | Summer Dormant? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old-fashioned bleeding heart | Lamprocapnos spectabilis | 3-9 | 24 to 36 in | Late April to June, pink | Yes, by early July |
| 'Alba' white bleeding heart | L. spectabilis 'Alba' | 3-9 | 24 to 30 in | Late April to June, pure white | Yes |
| 'Gold Heart' | L. spectabilis 'Gold Heart' | 3-9 | 24 to 30 in | May, pink over gold foliage | Yes, but the foliage is the point |
| 'Valentine' | L. spectabilis 'Valentine' | 3-9 | 24 to 30 in | Late April, deep red, dark stems | Yes |
| Fringed bleeding heart | Dicentra eximia | 3-9 | 12 to 18 in | May through September | No, stays green |
| Pacific bleeding heart | Dicentra formosa | 4-8 | 12 to 18 in | April to June, reblooms | Partly, in dry summers |
| 'Luxuriant' | Dicentra hybrid | 3-9 | 12 to 15 in | May to frost, cherry red | No, the longest bloomer |
| 'King of Hearts' | Dicentra hybrid | 5-9 | 8 to 12 in | May to frost, deep rose | No, best heat tolerance of the small types |
| Dutchman's breeches | Dicentra cucullaria | 3-7 | 6 to 10 in | April, white, native ephemeral | Yes, gone by June |
Read that table this way:
If you want the iconic look, buy the species. Nothing else has those arching 30-inch wands hung with pink lockets. Accept the dormancy and plan for it.
If you want a plant that stays put, buy 'Luxuriant' or D. eximia. Fringed bleeding hearts are smaller and less dramatic, but the blue-green ferny foliage holds all season and they rebloom on and off until frost. They are the practical choice for a bed you look at every day.
'Gold Heart' earns its place on foliage alone. The chartreuse leaves light up a dark corner for two full months before the plant goes dormant.
In zone 8 and 9, go small. 'King of Hearts' and D. formosa handle warm summers better than the big species, which sulks and goes dormant very early in southern heat.
Worked example: covering the dormancy gap in an 8-foot shade bed
This is the single most useful piece of planning with bleeding heart, so here it is with real numbers.
The problem. Three old-fashioned bleeding hearts along an 8-foot north-facing foundation bed. They are stunning from late April through early June and completely absent from July 1 onward, leaving three bare circles about 30 inches wide.
Step 1: Measure the hole. Each plant covers a circle roughly 30 inches across. Area of one circle: 3.14 x 1.25 ft x 1.25 ft = 4.9 sq ft. Three plants leave about 15 sq ft of bare ground in July.
Step 2: Choose fillers that leaf out late and stay all season. Both of these emerge after bleeding heart is in full growth, so they do not compete in May, then expand into the space in summer.
- Hosta covers the gap perfectly, but deer eat hostas on sight. Skip it in a deer yard.
- Japanese painted fern or autumn fern, at 18 to 24 inches wide, deer resistant, holds until frost
- Astilbe, 18 to 24 inches wide, blooms in July exactly when the bleeding heart quits
- Brunnera 'Jack Frost', 15 inches wide, silver foliage all season, deer resistant
Step 3: Do the plant count. Filling 15 sq ft with plants that each cover about 2.5 sq ft at maturity (18 inch spread):
15 sq ft divided by 2.5 sq ft = 6 plants
Two fillers tucked just behind and beside each bleeding heart. Plant them 12 to 15 inches from the bleeding heart crown, not on top of it, so you do not spear the roots when digging.
Step 4: Write the shopping list.
| Item | Quantity | Buy it as | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bleeding heart | 3 | Bare root, ordered in winter | Bare root is far cheaper than a potted plant and establishes faster |
| Autumn fern | 3 | 1-gallon pots | Pot size. A quart fern catches up to a gallon fern inside one season |
| Astilbe | 3 | 1-gallon pots | Named cultivars carry a premium over generic astilbe for no real gain here |
| Compost, 2 in over 8 x 3 ft | 4 cu ft | Bagged, or by the scoop if you have a truck | Bulk by volume is dramatically cheaper than bags once you pass a few cubic feet |
| Shredded leaf mulch, 2 in | 4 cu ft | Bagged, or free from your own fall leaves | Your own shredded leaves are the cheapest mulch there is and the best one for this bed |
Take that list to two local nurseries and one mail-order bare-root supplier before you buy anything. The single biggest saving in the whole list is the form you buy the bleeding heart in: bare-root crowns ordered in February cost a fraction of the same plant potted up on a nursery bench in May, and they root in faster because they were never pot-bound. The second biggest is mulch, which costs nothing at all if you ran a mower over last fall's leaves and stacked them in a corner.
If your budget is tight, buy the three bleeding hearts at full size and let the fillers wait a year. Ferns and astilbe fill in fast from small divisions, and a neighbor thinning either one in spring will usually hand you a clump for free.
Step 5: Mark the crowns. Push a labeled plant stake beside each bleeding heart before it goes dormant. Every gardener who has ever put a spade through a dormant bleeding heart in August has learned this the expensive way.
How to grow bleeding heart well
Part shade to full shade. Morning sun with afternoon shade is ideal. Full sun forces dormancy weeks early and scorches the foliage. Deep shade gives you fewer flowers but a longer season of leaves.
Rich, moist, well-drained soil. Bleeding heart is a woodland plant that wants soil like a forest floor: high in organic matter, evenly moist, never soggy. Work 2 to 3 inches of compost into the planting area.
Plant bare root in early spring or fall, crown 1 to 2 inches deep. Set the eyes (the pink growth buds) about an inch below the soil surface, spread the brittle roots out flat, and water in. Handle the roots gently, since they snap easily.
Space at 24 to 36 inches for the big species. Crowded plants get poor air movement and rot at the crown in a wet spring.
Mulch 2 inches, kept off the crown. Mulch keeps the soil cool and moist, which delays summer dormancy by two or three weeks. Our mulch guide covers depths by material.
Water through the dry spells until it yellows. Consistent moisture is what keeps foliage green longest. Once the leaves start to yellow, the plant is storing energy in the roots. Stop watering the spot heavily at that point.
Do not cut it back while it is still green. Yellowing foliage is doing its job. Wait until the leaves are fully yellow or brown, then cut to the ground.
Divide rarely, and only in early spring or fall. Bleeding heart resents disturbance and can take a season to recover. Divide only when the clump clearly declines, usually after 5 or more years.
Fringed types need one extra step. Shear D. eximia and 'Luxuriant' back by about half after the first flush of bloom fades, and you get a tidy mound and a fresh round of flowers within three weeks.
What actually damages bleeding heart
Deer are not the risk. These are.
Summer heat, mistaken for death. The most common panic. Yellowing in June is the plant going dormant on schedule, not dying. It returns bigger the following spring.
Wet crowns in winter. Bleeding heart rots in soil that stays saturated. Heavy clay is the usual culprit. Plant on a slight rise or amend the bed.
Slugs and snails. They chew ragged holes in the leaves in a wet spring, especially on the low fringed types. See our slug control guide for methods that work without harming pets.
Aphids. They cluster on new stems in spring and cause distorted growth. A strong spray of water knocks them off. Our guide on how to get rid of aphids covers heavier infestations.
Accidental digging. Covered above. Mark the crowns.
Voles. They occasionally chew the fleshy roots over winter, though the alkaloids deter them more than most perennials.
Companion plants for a deer resistant shade bed
Everything below shares bleeding heart's conditions and is also rated deer resistant, so the whole bed is unappealing rather than one safe plant surrounded by temptation.
| Companion | Zones | Height | Role in the Bed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferns (autumn, Japanese painted, Christmas) | 3-9 | 12 to 36 in | The best dormancy filler, deer almost never touch ferns |
| Astilbe | 3-8 | 12 to 36 in | Blooms in July exactly as bleeding heart fades |
| Coral bells (Heuchera) | 4-9 | 8 to 18 in | Year-round foliage color at the front edge |
| Brunnera ('Jack Frost') | 3-8 | 12 to 15 in | Silver leaves and blue spring flowers, fuzzy foliage deer skip |
| Hellebore (Helleborus) | 4-9 | 12 to 18 in | Blooms in February, genuinely toxic, evergreen |
| Barrenwort (Epimedium) | 4-8 | 8 to 15 in | Handles dry shade under trees better than anything here |
| Lungwort (Pulmonaria) | 3-8 | 8 to 12 in | Early flowers, bristly spotted leaves |
| Foamflower (Tiarella) | 3-8 | 6 to 12 in | Spring bottlebrush flowers, spreads gently |
| Daffodils | 3-8 | 8 to 18 in | Toxic bulbs, bloom just before bleeding heart, then vanish too |
| Solomon's seal (Polygonatum) | 3-8 | 18 to 36 in | Arching stems that echo bleeding heart's shape and stay all season |
For the complete list with light requirements and bloom times, see deer resistant shade plants and deer resistant perennials.
A word on toxicity around kids and pets
The same chemistry that keeps deer away is worth knowing about at home. All parts of bleeding heart are toxic if eaten, and the roots hold the highest concentration. Dogs that dig and chew roots are the realistic risk, not children, since the plant is bitter enough that nobody eats much of it. Wear gloves when dividing or handling roots if you have sensitive skin. Contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center or your veterinarian if a pet eats any part of the plant.
None of that makes it a plant to avoid. Daffodils, hellebores, foxglove, and lily of the valley are all more toxic and all common garden plants. It just means bleeding heart belongs in a border, not in a vegetable bed a dog patrols.
What bleeding heart will not do
It will not protect the plants beside it. There is no strong scent projecting outward. A deer will stand next to a bleeding heart and eat a hosta. To see what is drawing deer into your yard, check plants deer love.
It will not fill space in August. Plan the gap or you will stare at bare mulch for three months.
It will not thrive in full sun or dry soil. In those conditions it goes dormant in May and looks miserable for the few weeks it is up.
It will not stop rabbits from eating something else nearby. Rabbits leave bleeding heart alone for the same reason deer do, but that protection stops at the plant's own edge.
For fencing heights, repellent rotation, and how to protect the plants you refuse to give up, see our pillar guide to deer resistant plants.
FAQ
Do deer eat bleeding hearts?
Very rarely. Bleeding heart contains bitter isoquinoline alkaloids in every part of the plant, which makes it genuinely toxic and unpleasant to browse. Rutgers rates Dicentra in the top "rarely damaged" tier. The only realistic exposure is a fresh transplant or a very tender spring shoot in a yard with severe deer pressure, and even then a deer usually takes one bite and moves on.
Is bleeding heart deer proof?
No plant is deer proof, and the Rutgers scale stops at "rarely damaged" for that reason. Bleeding heart is about as close as a shade perennial gets, because the deterrent is real toxicity rather than just scent or texture. In a normal season, expect no damage at all.
Why did my bleeding heart turn yellow and disappear in July?
That is summer dormancy, not death. Old-fashioned bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis) finishes its whole growth cycle by early summer, stores energy in the roots, and goes underground until the following spring. Keep it watered and shaded and you can push dormancy back two or three weeks. Mark the spot with a stake so nobody digs into the crown.
Which bleeding heart stays green all summer?
Fringed types. Dicentra eximia, D. formosa, and hybrids like 'Luxuriant' and 'King of Hearts' hold their blue-green ferny foliage from spring to frost and rebloom on and off through the season. They are shorter and less dramatic than the big species, but they solve the empty-bed problem. 'King of Hearts' is the best choice in zones 8 and 9.
Are bleeding hearts toxic to dogs and cats?
Yes. All parts contain isoquinoline alkaloids, and the roots are the most concentrated. Ingestion can cause drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, and in large amounts more serious effects. Dogs that dig are the realistic risk. Call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center if a pet eats any part of the plant.
Can I plant bleeding heart in full sun?
Only in the coolest climates, and even there it will finish early. Bleeding heart is a woodland plant that wants morning sun with afternoon shade. In full sun the leaves scorch, the flowers fade fast, and the plant goes dormant weeks ahead of schedule. In zones 7 and warmer, give it shade for most of the day and consistent moisture.
What should I plant with bleeding heart to fill the gap?
Ferns and astilbe are the two best answers, because both leaf out late, expand through summer, and are deer resistant. Brunnera, coral bells, and Japanese forest grass also work at the front of a bed. Plant fillers 12 to 15 inches to the side of the bleeding heart crown rather than directly over it so their roots do not compete and your spade does not find the crown later.
When should I plant bleeding heart?
Early spring or early fall. Bare-root crowns planted in March or April establish fast and cost about a third of what a potted plant costs in May. Fall planting works well in zones 5 through 8, giving roots six weeks before the ground freezes. Set the growth buds 1 to 2 inches below the soil surface and water deeply.
