UPDATE: |Gardening expert reveals the ‘weed’ that could bloom into ‘beautiful’ plant News

If left to grow, a gardener says one ‘weed’ could grow into a popular garden plant

A gardening expert has been left ‘gobsmacked’ after letting a weed grow in his garden that turned into a ‘beautiful’ plant with vibrant heart-shaped blooms.

Jason Williams, a Manchester-based gardening expert known as the Cloud Gardener, says he let a ‘weed’ grow for three years in his balcony garden that turned out to be a bleeding heart – a cherished ornamental plant in UK gardens.

The plants, known officially as Lamprocapnos spectabilis, are shade-loving perennials known for their heart-shaped spring flowers that typically bloom in April and May.

In a Youtube video, Jason gave a tour of his 18th-floor balcony garden which features a ‘beautiful’ plant he has named Leona.

Jason said: “I think the best place to start is Leona. Just look at her.

“Fun fact, this bleeding heart was actually a weed about three years ago. I just left it because I thought, ‘What is this plant?’ and I wanted to see what it was. It was half of this size.

“Earlier on in January I actually thought it was a peony that hadn’t taken, so I left it to see if the peony was going to come back. Turns out that it was Leona.

“This is the largest that she has been and I am just absolutely gobsmacked at this plant. She is so beautiful.”

The garden tour also featured a red bleeding heart, which Jason says he hopes will begin to bloom in a matter of weeks after planting it in a container. Once in bloom, heart-shaped flowers – either rose-red, purple-pink or white, depending on the species – hang from the plant’s vine.

Other gardeners have also mistaken bleeding hearts for invasive weeds. On the r/whatisthisplant subreddit, one Reddit user, spamih8, asked, “Is this a weed?” and posted a picture of a bleeding heart not yet in bloom.

One Reddit user, Treehorn79, responded: “Bleeding heart! A weed is just a plant in a spot where you don’t want it to be, not a classification of plants. I suppose the label might also be applied to plants that would be described as invasive.

“Bleeding heart may spread a bit, but I doubt many people would consider that a negative (unless it’s somehow growing completely out of control, which, sadly is not a problem I’ve experienced in my part of the world). When the bleeding hearts are in bloom, I know that spring has truly arrived!”

According to Gardeners World, bleeding hearts are ideally suited to cool, shady spots in the garden with moist soil, including in containers. They can also be grown in the sun as long as the soil stays moist.

They are not recognised as weeds or exhibit invasive behaviour in the UK, but if you’re lucky enough to spot one in your garden, it might be worth waiting to see if it produces stunning blooms this spring.