Like many flowering perennials, the bleeding heart develops fruits and seeds after the flowering period. If the site conditions are good, the plant will self-sow without any problems, so you don't have to work with it. You can also harvest the ripe seeds and sow them specifically.
How to sow bleeding heart seeds?
To sow Bleeding Heart seeds, stratify the seeds in January, either outdoors or in the fridge, and then sow them in seed trays in March at 15°C and keep evenly moist. Well-stored seeds can be distributed directly in the garden.
Stratifying the seeds
The bleeding heart is also a cold germinator, i.e. the seeds must first lose their germination inhibition through a cold period before they can be sown. This process is also known as stratification, and there are two ways to do this.
Outdoor stratification
With this method, you fill seed soil into small seed pots and sow the seeds there. The pots are placed outside in a protected place over the winter so that they find natural conditions. However, it is important that the substrate with the seeds is always kept moist.
Stratification in the refrigerator
Another option is to stratify the seeds in the refrigerator. To do this, pack the seeds with moist sand in a well-sealable container and put everything together in the vegetable compartment for about six weeks. Please do not put them in the freezer, otherwise the seeds will lose their ability to germinate. After stratification, you can sow the seeds and initially cultivate them at around 12 to 15 °C. As in nature, increase the temperature slowly and do not let it rise above approx. 20 °C.
Sowing Bleeding Heart
If you want to sow the seeds yourself, you should start stratifying them in January. Then the seeds are ready to be sown on time in March. The ideal solution is to sow in seed trays (€35.00 on Amazon), which are placed in a bright place in the house or greenhouse at around 15 °C. The substrate should be kept evenly moist.
Saving seeds
You can either sow the ripe Bleeding Heart seeds you have collected yourself right away or initially store them in a cool and dry place - ideally in an airtight container. But be careful: the seeds can lose their ability to germinate if stored improperly or too warm/too cold.
Tip
If you are unsure about germination, you can first carry out a germination test with a few seeds. To do this, sow the seeds on a damp kitchen towel and wait to see how much they sprout - at least half of the seeds should germinate.
