by Bronwynne Bailey
I am visiting my sister in Cleveland while she recovers from a total knee replacement. Now that she is getting more independent, I am venturing into her garden. Due to her knee pain prior to surgery, she is behind on weeding and mulching. This article will focus on two plants, bleeding heart and thistle.
Bleeding Heart
Bleeding Heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis) flowers in US zones two through eight but originated in Siberia, Japan, Northern China, and Korea. This herbaceous plant reaches a height and width of two to three feet with green, fern-like leaves which divide into three leaflets. The arching branches are laden with heart shaped flowers in shades ranging from pink to white. By July, the leaves wither and die and the plant remains dormant until the following spring. This enables the plant to tolerate our summer weather.
The plant grows best in rich, alkaline soil with morning sunlight and afternoon shade but will tolerate full shade.
Bleeding Hearts are not susceptible to many pests, except for occasionally aphids. The plant will not tolerate wet winters or extremely dry summers. Be sure to water the area even if the leaves have deteriorated. This plant is ideal for borders or woodland beds. Propagation occurs through self-seeding or dividing mature plants in spring or fall.
Other species of Bleeding Heart
Dicentra Formosa Gold Heart has bright green leaves
Dicentra spectabilis Alba has white flowers
Dicentra exima is a native species that grows only one foot tall and wide, does not drop its leaves and has smaller foliage and flowers. The flowers also last longer than the standard Bleeding Heart.
Thistle
There are a multitude of thistle species, but most contain large tap root, spiky leaves, and are prolific seed developers. One thistle plant can produce 100,000 seeds in one season; the seeds remain viable for up to ten years. The thistle begins as a rosette hugging the ground. This is the best time to hand pull the weed (February through May). As the plant matures it develops a stalk and prepares its flowers. At this stage the tap root is even larger and more difficult to remove. You may need to pull up the same plant three or four times before the tap root withers enough to die off. Glyphosate and paraquat can be used as effective treatments to control thistles if they are in the rosette stage (laying close to the ground). If the thistle has bolted (began to rise from the ground and put a stalk) or are producing seed heads, they can be more difficult to control. Herbicide treatments that can be effective against mature thistles include 2,4-D, metsulfuron methyl, and mixtures of 2,4-D with picloram, aminopyralid, or dicamba. The best time for control is in mid-February to April.
For more information find the publication Identifying and Controlling Thistles in Pastures.
