The bleeding heart vine is an exotic tropical plant that displays spectacular red and white flowers. This is a tender perennial so it can also be grown outdoors in warm climates and grown in containers and taken indoors when the weather cools. It will do well on a trellis also and hanging baskets display its beauty Kelli KleinInstead, indoor and outdoor care is required for this vine that can be grown outside in USDA hardiness zones 9 through 11.
The flowers are red or pink to white, and generally in the shape of a heart or blood is dripping from a white calyx. Since this vining variety grows so well and fast, your garden will have a nice shiny green foliage background with stands of beautiful flowers. With an arch trellis, as a trialing column of foliage discussing from atop a chain link fence (bridging the gap should privacy be lacking) or cascading from the edge of a raised bed or hanging basket.
The care of Plant Bleeding Heart Vines. They need regular water and trimming, however they are so worth it! If you don’t want it to spread, then prune the flowers after they bloom but before the seedpods.Redirect them into good fruit production posture instead.
Bleeding Heart Vine History
Bleeding heart vine, a worldwide ornamental grown in the tropics and subtropics. Clerodendrum: This genus name comes from the Greek words ‘kleros’ (chance or fate) and ‘dendron’ (tree). ‘Thomsoniae’ honors Reverend William Cooper Thomson, a missionary, physician and plant collector active in Nigeria.
Bleeding Heart Vine Uses
It is a tender perennial and is often used in garden landscaping as an ornamental. You can also plant it against an arched trellis to bring height as well. It also makes a super trailing plant for raised beds or hanging pots to spill over the sides. They grow in partial shade and can be used as ground cover that is allowed to wander around under trees.
Planting
The vine is best planted in the spring. In cooler climates you need to wait until all danger of frost has dissipated. Dig a hole as deep as the pot it came in and at least twice as wide to prepare to plant. Insert your vine into the hole and backfill with compost.
Only give your plant something to keep a toehold; let it climb up on a trellis or scaffolding. Or you can allow it to sprawl the ground and act as a ground cover. Alternatively, you may prune the plant regularly in order to get a more bushy growth habit.
How to Grow
Bleeding heart vines are moderate maintenance house plants. Irrigation on a regular basis and Constant pruning would be needed. This plant may be grown indoors, outdoors, or a combination of both. Because of this caveat, some of the growth parameters are going to be a little bit tighter if you are growing indoors vs. outdoors. In this article you will discover what is the best way to grow this type of vine.
Light
Growing outdoors, the vines will prefer partial sun; full sun can be quite harsh, drying plants too quickly. The native habitat of this species is most often as an understructure plant, so it is well equipped to endure dappled or light shade conditions (and, of course, full sun). Give a sunny indoor exposure. This is because the light that comes through the glass in your window won’t be as powerful as outdoor sunlight this plant gets.
Soil
Bleeding heart vines need to be planted in well-draining soil. Water logged soils are certain to lead to fungal problems and diseases. The soil needs to be rich in organic matter, and slightly acidic with a pH between 5.5-6.5. It is adaptable to a variety of soil types, including loamy and sandy, as long as it is well-draining and amended with organic matter.
Water
Consistent water will be the key, as the tropics require. During the extreme heat of summer, a mature and well-established grape vine will require up to three gallons of water per week. Check the ground where your plant is growing to know if it needs more water. You never want the soil to dry out all the way, but you also never want it wet or soggy. It should be consistently steataboveest. In winter dormancy, water these plants only two times per month.
Temperature and Humidity
Medium to high humidity levels of about 50% since these tropical plants. When growing the backs indoors, they will need a humidifier nearby. They prefer temperatures between 65 and 80 F. (18-27 C.) during the growing season.
Bleeding heart vines are plants of the tropics and should not be kept below 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius). If you live in an area that gets colder than 45 degrees, they can be grown as an annual or grow them in a container and move it indoors when cooler temperatures hit.
Fertilizing
This is a rapidly growing plant on its own, so feeding is not essential. This plant also needs nothing more than organic matter added to the soil in spring to be happy. If you want, you could apply a granular balanced organic fertilizer in spring to add a shot of nutrients once it wakes up from winter-sleep. Just ensure you stop fertilizing towards the end of the season, and it will prepare itself as winter snugly approaches.
Maintenance
Cut back vines after flowering to reduce self-seeding. Since blooms occur on new growth, you should always wait until your plant has finished flowering for the season. Like many other edible plants, un-pollinated flowers will not produce fruit (you may have seen some tricks developed by big industry to deal with that) but if pollinated, each flower can grow the fruit containing the seeds and more lurking weeds in your garden.
These are very tolerant of deep pruners, so cut them away. This will also allow you to manage the overall form and aids in keeping growth in check. Or, you can stay on top of trimming this plant itself multiple times throughout the growing season to get it to grow bushier instead of sending out vines.
Pruning
Hard pruning is applied to bleeding heart vine to maintain its form thick and bushy in addition to possessing an appropriate size of the plant. Remove clerodendrum dead wood in late winter, before new growth appears. Prune all the taller stems back to a height of about 12 in. Flowers appear on new growth, so if you need to prune the vine, wait until after it is done blooming. Have your shape trimmed down at any time. It can also be pinched back to keep it more shrub-like or left as a mound.
Propagating Bleeding Heart Vine
It is easiest to propagate the bleeding heart vine through stem cuttings and of course by seed, here is how for both types:
To propagate by stem cutting:
- What you will need: Sterilized pruning snips, moistened potting soil or sand, a potting container and optionally a clear jar of water
- Take a 3- to 4-inch long soft wood cutting and make a straight cut just below the leaf node. Leave the top 3 leaves, remove any below this
- Trim it from the bottom near a node, drop in water, or stick in soil. Place it on a sunny windowsill or a warmed surface, like a heating mat.
- Water Plant: Top the water off in your mason jar (as it evaporates every few days). The roots should appear in about two weeks. Once roots are visible, plant them in damp soil; put it on a sunny windowsill.
- Planted cutting: the plant should be mist everyday Do not let the soil dry out. Roots will begin to show in 4-6 weeks. You will be able to tell when you see new growth otherwise, the stem should cause tension if gently taken into account. No need to yank, as you could damage the freshly formed roots.
Common Problems
Vine does not have many issues as it is an aggressive grower once established. However, there are some problems as below.
Lack of Flowers
No flowers: Your plants are not getting enough sun if there are no flowers. While a bit of shade won’t kill this vine, it also won’t encourage the robust bloom you’re probably looking for. No Flowers – The absence of flowers to bloom, is a great sign that the plant needs to be relocated towards more sunlight, especially if you are growing this plant indoors and realize somewhat bleak blooms.
If indoors, shift your plants toward the window to receive bright direct light. You can do this simple plant relocation in your garden, or dig up the container plant to transport it.
Pests
Indoor bleeding heart vine has a problem with spider mites. Most of the houses are the ideal homes for these pests as they favor a warm, dry atmosphere with no mugginess. One good way is to keep the air around your plants more humid. Mites – Symptoms will include little holes in the leaves or yellow spots on the foliage. You may also observe spider webs clusters on the leaves.
Mites can be washed off with a strong stream of water or just wiped away with a cloth. For more severe infestations, use insecticidal soap or other organic pesticides. Or better still, take your plant out in the garden (if the weather allows) and those slugs will soon become somebody else’s supper. Mealybugs can also leave a cottony or webby mass, which is clearly visible on the undersides of leaves. They are also manageable through the methods listed above, or insecticidal soaps.
Diseases
White powderDiseases: Powdery mildewForms as a white, powdery substance on the undersides of leaves. This is followed by yellowing of the leaves which turn brown and dehydrate, then they die causing the whole plant to collapse. Powdery mildew loves it damp & cool.
To prevent, make sure to avoid watering over the top of your plants and increase air flow near them. If captured earlier you can remove the infected leaves before they are able to transfer all over. Because this is an uber-dynamic plant, smaller instances of powdery mildew won’t result in plant death.
FAQ
Q- Will a bleeding heart vine grow well on a trellis or does it need additional support?
This variety naturally wants to climb, so support it with a trellis, fence, or pergola if you want it to reach its full height of 15 feet. Yet you can prune it into a mounded shrub. Hanging baskets are another form of well-suited for the vines, where they will create an elegant drape off of the edges.
Q- Are bleeding heart vines invasive?
Although fast-growing, clerodendrum vines are neither invasive nor aggressive; you can train them to twine around a trellis. It is not invasive.
Q- Bleeding Heart AbstractsHeart Plant vs Heart Vine.
Many of us know this plant very well indeed and it is often mistaken for similar, called a Bleeding Heart. This labiate is not at all connected with the common bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis), which belongs to the papaverous. The dainty little droplet falls from a heart-shaped calyx on both plants.
