What's eating my luxuriant bleeding heart?

Luxuriant Bleeding Heart is a long-blooming hybrid resistant to deer and rabbits. Aphids are the primary pest, colonising tender spring shoots. Slugs can graze the ferny foliage in damp conditions. Scale insects appear occasionally on stems. Managing these is straightforward — insecticidal soap, slug pellets, or hand-picking usually resolves problems quickly.

Distorted, sticky shoot tips; green or black insects massed on stems and leaf undersides; honeydew can encourage sooty mould Spray forcefully with water to dislodge; apply insecticidal soap or neem oil; avoid excess nitrogen feeding which promotes soft, aphid-attracting growth

Ragged holes through the finely cut leaves; slime trails on foliage and soil surface, worst after wet nights Beer traps; iron phosphate slug pellets (safe around pets and wildlife); hand-pick at dusk; reduce mulch near crown

Small, waxy brown or tan bumps fixed to stems; feeding weakens plant causing pale foliage and reduced flowering Scrape off with a soft brush; treat with horticultural oil or neem oil in late spring to smother active crawlers