Dutchman's breeches
Dicentra cucullaria · Papaveraceae
A spring ephemeral of rich woodland: white flowers like tiny upside-down pantaloons above lacy, grey-green leaves in April, gone without trace by June.
- Size
- 8 in tall, 8 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Mid April to early May
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around Dutchman's breeches
The planner designed this bed around Dutchman's breeches when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why Dutchman's breeches stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Dutchman's breeches × 13, white
- 2 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 11, tan
- 3 Northern sea oats 'River Mist' × 3, green
- 4 Log fern × 3, dark green leaves
- 5 Astilbe 'Fanal' × 4, red
- 6 Grecian windflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only bells. The others are spires, airy sprays, plumes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Near the front. At 8 in it stands ahead of northern sea oats 'River Mist' (2½ ft) without hiding it.
- 13 plants in 2 groups (7 and 6). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From mid April to early May.
- Part of the bed's peak. With Grecian windflower in mid April: 2 kinds at once. No week has more.
- Leaves gone by midsummer. They die back and leave bare ground. A perennial that comes up late stands beside it, and grows over the gap.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 60% of the planted ground. Moor grass 'Greenlee' and northern sea oats 'River Mist' carry the bed through winter. Northern sea oats 'River Mist' and log fern anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 7 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Dutchman's breeches goes in a border
At 8 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It uses the light before the trees leaf out, then vanishes, so plant it among ferns or hostas that will fill the space. Left undisturbed it slowly makes a colony.
- Early flowers under deciduous trees
- Native woodland gardens
- Between later-emerging ferns and hostas
What to plant with Dutchman's breeches
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Christmas fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (20 in) to stand behind it.
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; spires rising out of its mound.
- Wild ginger: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about Dutchman's breeches
Does Dutchman's breeches need sun or shade?
Dutchman's breeches grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does Dutchman's breeches grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does Dutchman's breeches flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid April to early May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Late April to mid May |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 5 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 6 | Early April to late April |
| Zone 7 | Late March to mid April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should Dutchman's breeches be planted?
6 in (15 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 8 in (20 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 in (20 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Dutchman's breeches plants do I need?
At 6 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 48 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 21 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 153 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used 13 in two groups.
Is Dutchman's breeches poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts are poisonous if eaten.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like Dutchman's breeches?
These come closest to doing what Dutchman's breeches does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Rue anemone: the same job in a bed, the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour; wants average soil.
- Liverleaf: the same job in a bed, the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour; medium leaves, not fine, wants average soil.
- Wherry's foamflower: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in wider, flowers early May to late June.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat Dutchman's breeches?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after Dutchman's breeches?
Dutchman's breeches is over by early May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Bugleweed: from early May to late May, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Lily of the valley: from early May to late May, 8 in tall.
- Sweet woodruff: from early May to early June, 8 in tall.
What does Dutchman's breeches look like in winter?
Dutchman's breeches has long gone by winter: it dies down in summer, soon after flowering, and comes back in spring.
Is Dutchman's breeches good for bees and butterflies?
Dutchman's breeches is visited by bees, butterflies and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Dicentra
- Bleeding heart 'King of Hearts' Dicentra 'King of Hearts'
- Bleeding heart 'Luxuriant' Dicentra 'Luxuriant'
- Fringed bleeding heart Dicentra eximia
- Squirrel corn Dicentra canadensis
- Western bleeding heart Dicentra formosa
In these guides
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Native plants for shade
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 8 in (20 cm) tall, 8 in (20 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6 in (15 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Mid April to early May; hanging bells; white
- Leaves
- Fine texture, summer-dormant; blue-green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Papaveraceae
- Comes from
- E. Canada to N. & E. U.S.A
- Attracts
- Bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.