I must admit, the name on the plant tag had me hooked.
What kind of plant, or flower, inspires a name such as 鈥楤leeding Hearts鈥�? And I am not talking about the typical bleeding hearts, Dicentra spectabilis鈥r Lamprocapnos spectabilis as that plant is now known. This other 鈥楤leeding Hearts鈥� was something completely different.
Certainly, the flowerless plant in the pot was an eye-catcher simply with its display of erect dark stems adorned with deep green leaves overlaid with smoky purple hues. Hmm. Tempting. Oh, what the heck. I had a whole new section of almost empty garden bed to plant up.
That was last year when we had finally dealt with the difficult slope area of the yard on the south side of the house. And I was so excited to finally have a series of sun-bleached beds that allowed for a whole new category of plants.
Fast forward to this year, and my heart is 鈥渂leeding鈥� pure love over this plant whose name intrigued me last year鈥eliopsis helianthoides var. scabra 鈥楤leeding Hearts.鈥� The common name is false sunflower; 鈥渇alse鈥� because this is a perennial sunflower plant.
The plant tag said height is 36 inches (90 cm) with a spread of 24-30 inches (60-75 cm). In my new garden with its well-amended soil, this plant has reached five feet (1.5 m) in height and has dozens of stems which are best kept supported to keep them erect. But I read on one website that plant growth will be strongest if it is planted in soil with average fertility. And here I thought the floppy stems were because of the masses of flowers this plant produces.
But I might not have been totally erroneous in my thinking. Since early July, the plant has been literally covered in flowers that open a deep crimson-red colour, graduating to delicious mango orange tinged with yellow before melting into toasty autumn orange. And talk about a bee magnet! The plant is alive with them.
So far, I have not noticed any pest or disease problems on my 鈥楤leeding Hearts.鈥� However, our other false sunflower in John鈥檚 garden, Heliopsis helianthoides 鈥楬elhan鈥� (trademark name Loraine Sunshine) suffered from leafspot last year. Thankfully, there is no sign of this disease on that plant this year. I also make regular inspections for any aphids, thrips or whiteflies that can be pests on false sunflowers.
Besides being tolerant of average soil conditions and moderate watering, I have been impressed with how false sunflower handles the high temperatures and humidity we are now experiencing through the summer months. Keep the spent flowers deadheaded and you will have a stunning floriferous plant worthy of pride of place in almost any garden setting.
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A recent email from Marnie alerted me to a problem plant in the Little River area called tree-of-heaven, or Ailanthus altissima to be botanically correct. She would like to see it added to the invasive species list. Unfortunately, there are certain criteria that must be met before a non-native plant is given invasive status.
However, this does not mean we should not be actively managing a plant that is exhibiting a rapidly spreading growth habit. We are stewards of the land and we are charged with looking after it.
For more information about this plant, visit
Also click on 鈥渟potted lanternfly鈥� in the first paragraph. This fruit pest is not here in B.C. yet, but you should be aware of what it looks like and watch for it.
Now, where is my net? I need to catch the latest batch of bullfrogs who have migrated into our new pond!
Leslie Cox co-owns Growing Concern Cottage Garden in Black Creek.
