After putting on a spring display, Old-Fashioned Bleeding Hearts usually go dormant until the following spring. However, if plants are kept well-watered during the spring, dormancy may be delayed until late summer or early fall.

Dicentra is most at home in woodland settings. It likes rich, loose soil that is evenly moist but also well-drained. At planting time, add lots of compost, humus, or peat moss to the soil to enhance its water retention capabilities. Plants will not grow well in heavy clay soils.

Dicentra should be planted in locations that are protected from high winds and early frosts, such as the edges of woodlands or on the north or east sides of buildings. It may be propagated by division in either spring or fall, taking great care to keep the fleshy roots intact when transplanting. If spent flowers are not removed, small pods develop and drop their seeds when mature and dry. If these seeds are left undisturbed, they will germinate the following spring. The resulting plantlets are easy to transplant while they are still small.

Use as border plants, in containers, for cut flowers, for edging, and in mass plantings. Racemes make delightful additions to fresh bouquets, lasting about 2 weeks in a vase. Attracts hummingbirds. Deer resistant.