Bleeding Heart Yellow Leaves

by C. Budish
(Andover, MN)

I have several bleeding hearts in my garden, but some of them are beautiful green leaves and others get yellow leaves and die off. I know there is a variety that have yellow leaves, but that is not case here. Can you help?

Doug says - the bleeding hearts that are getting yellow leaves are doing it for a stress reason. They may be getting a tad more light so they die off quicker (always assuming they come back from year to year). Bleeding hearts in too much sunlight do this - go yellow and dieback to reappear the following year.

Or, if they're struggling along, my guess is not enough water or sunlight - something in the soil or sunlight levels isn't right and they're under stress. Remember that your garden can change conditions of soil and light within a few feet and that your job is to figure out the differences between what's going on with the good ones and the bad ones.

But my first guess (without knowing anything about how you're growing them) is a sun situation or a soil/water change.