Should I prune our bleeding heart bush when it turns yellow? We planted it in a sunny area. It did amazing during spring but now looking very yellow and scorched.
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You simply must send a picture or two RSH! Bleeding heart likes a protected environment and partial shade. Have you fertilized this plant at all? Without the proper chemistry, no plant is able to do photosynthesis and make food for themselves to grow leaves, make flower, make seed, do repairs. Plants in lots of sunlight need more fertilizer than plants in shade. Sunlight is part of the process after all. Factories running at top speed need more product added than factories at half speed in the shade. – stormy Aug 09 '18 at 00:27
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Most years mine does this, even in a part shade area. I just cut it to the ground once the foliage yellows - there is a warning in one of my garden encyclopaedia with these plants that you will end up with a gap in the border by end of July because this plant tends to behave this way. I get round that by planting a fuchsia nearby, which gets large enough to reduce the gap by the time this happens. – Bamboo Aug 09 '18 at 00:40
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Thanks. I was thinking of moving it to a shady area. Is it a good idea to do that now that leaves are yellow? – RSH Aug 09 '18 at 00:52
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No - wait till Fall/autumn, unless your weather is going to be cool and damp for a few weeks. – Bamboo Aug 09 '18 at 01:01
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You can prune it back if it's appearance is detracting from the area. Once the leaves start to turn the plant isn't going to be using them again.
Bleeding Hearts often go dormant during the summer, when this happens the leaves turn yellow and sometimes wilt away entirely. Even if the plant remains green until winter, next spring the Bleeding Heart will regrow from the ground up.
A sunny area might not be the best for a Bleeding Heart, in my experience they like partial shade and lots of water. However, with a good watering schedule you can probably keep it around.
GardenerJ
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