question about pruning bleeding heart plant

i have a huge bleeding heart plant in the front of a garden area.
its 25+ years old and is covering a space about 12 feet from front to back.
its root has never been taken out of the ground for the winter.
in the spring i planted flowers behind it not realizing it would grow so big this year.
it continues to grow after its finished flowering in the spring.
the flowers i planted are not getting any sun due to the bleeding heart overwhelming the space.
my question is-
now that the bleeding heart has finished blooming, i wondered if i can prune the back of the plant down so that the other plants can get sun and grow, and if the pruning will effect the growth of the bleeding heart next summer?
since its a root i would think that it would just grow just as big next year and not be affected by the pruning, but i wanted to be sure before i do prune it.
thanx in advance.
e_e_e.

A 12' wide bleeding heart?! We're going to need photographic evidence if you're truly talking about a Dicentra :)

If it is Dicentra then yes, pruning it back would negatively affect it. Despite its size it is a perennial not a shrub and therefore cannot be pruned in quite the same manner.

Are you sure you're not talking about "Hearts-a-poppin" (Euonymus americanus)?

hi. thanx for the response.
no its a bleeding heart.
and yes its huge.
its possible that there is more than one root, but it seems to start up from one main spot.
glad i posted bcuz i really didnt think pruning it would have any affect on next years plant.
i was all set to start cutting!

Wow, 12 feet... I'd like to see the whole thing. And I want one too.

a 12' bleeding heart???
Guiness Book of World Records would probably want to see that!!!!!

You can cut back the flower stems back to the basal mound after flowering, but I wouldn't prune the mound

Mine got to *maybe* 2 feet in diameter, and in the spring I split it up when the growth was new (the same way a hosta can be split up and planted elsewhere). Sounds like you have enough to share with your whole town. This means waiting til next spring (unless it can be done in the fall?). But next year it can take up a smaller footprint.

But call the Guiness World Record folks before you do that!

I was just at a Garden Walk and saw huge Bleeding Heart (not in bloom) and no one could believe that's what it was either! It occupied a spot about 6-8 wide and 3 feet deep. It was beautiful and did look like a bush.

Enjoy yours!

I pruned my back last year for the first time last year and this year it got HUGE! "Bout 6feet across..3 -4feet deep...i'll look for my pic...

I'm thinking that you have multiple plants instead of just one.

nope just one....

JMR

Here is a Davesgarden URL on dividing a bleeding heart. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/504106/

That is huge. I didn't think they got that large. I have 3 plants of Dicentra, including a white blooming variety that are 6years old. Mine blooms every spring. If not watered, it will go dormant with hot weather. I trim mine back leaving some foliage. Never had them fail to bloom the following year. Any perennial can be trimmed back without harm. I do it to promote additional blooms.

This message was edited Jul 15, 2011 9:16 PM

My bleeding heart was beautiful this year, but is overgrown. Can I prune it now or wait til die-back?

I think IF the plant is doing well AND you are able to accommodate it at the size, leave well alone, However, IF you need to use some of the space for some other plants, then you need to try lift the Bleeding Heart out of the ground THEN split it up into several smaller plants and either pot them up for friends as gifts, sell them or find a like for like area (light, sun, shade etc) as the plant already had
it growing so well.

To get a huge plant of that spread out from the ground you will need to do a lot of digging, use the garden spade, slice a large circle around the root area leaving about 8 inches free from the roots, take your time as these plants have very fleshy roots and are easy to damage,

Once you get a large clump of soil WITYH the plant out of the ground, use the spade to section up the plant, you may have to stand on the spade to get it through the fleshy roots, I use an old bread knife, Once you have the plant cut into bits with roots in tact, you either go plant these bits or pot up some for later use IF not sure where to plant the new smaller plants or give some away.
Prep the new planting area well by adding plenty humus / compost to allow air into the soil, helps water retention and helps feed the plant, ass a handful blood / fish / bone bought already mixed in packet from garden store. read the dosage as too much feed is as bad as never feeding, the mix I mention is a nice slow release fertiliser and has NO chemicals added. mix it into the planting hole or scatter around the top of the soil and gently hand fork it into the top inch or so.
water well and leave till the plant gets used to it's ne environment. water omly when needed as these plant like a drier spot BUT not allowed to dehydrate either.
Good luck. Hope this helps you a little.
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

Thanks WeeNel, I think splitting it is the way to go. Thank you.