One of the first perennials I have to break dormancy are my BLEEDING HEARTS. When they start growing, you can almost see them grow, they grow so fast! It's not unusual for Bleeding Hearts to grow several inches a day! The dried, cut off shoots that have gone through the winter are easy to pull out of the ground, and the soft, beautifully colored green, or green and wine stems and leaves that take their place are some of my favorite of all perennials. Since they grow so fast, if you need or want to cage them, do it now, because if you wait, it will be hard to do. I learned the hard way--I tried to cage mine just a couple days too late one year, and several of the soft, tender stems broke off when I tried to contain them inside the cage. A couple of my bleeding hearts are several years old, and so I need a 3-4 foot cage--they get very big and will fall on the ferns, hosta, bergenia and Japanese painted ferns that are in front of them if I don't. I have tried various cages, but my favorites are big 3X11/2-foot galvanized square tomato cages. They fold up nicely when not in use, and are sturdy and effective. They are also invisible when the plants grow up in them, and they keep the plants nice and upright. The little shoots you see in the pictures will be full-grown and blooming in no time at all! I can't wait!
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