My guess, is that this may have been left over from spring, and chances are that it has dried out too much to live.

I recently bought something similar to what you describe (Menard's, though it was tall garden phlox). It looked so pathetic, but I planted it, and gave it a tag. If it does live, it will be a nice surprise,. If it doesn't, I will know to not ever buy end of season bare roots again.

Sue

A few years ago I bought a little cellophane bag of Echinacea Officionalis packed in soft wood shavings. It got planted at some point, sprouted in the spring, and grew into a beautiful plant but I wasn't too crazy about the flower form in that particular garden. After I moved it I saw new sprouts in the same old spot, so it has lived in both gardens ever since.

The old roots had to be at least 8" deep, so I am guessing that a plant can grow from what looks like nothing. I also now have a grapevine growing from a piece that must have been broken off the vine I planted that didn't make it and was dumped!

I dug up a phlox paniculata and moved it, and every spring I have to pull out the volunteer shoots from the old spot. It refuses to grow in one of its new homes, though, while in another spot it gets tall and beautiful every year.

You may be very pleasantly surprised by your bleeding hearts if they are happy where you planted them. Time will tell.

Mary

Thanks for sharing your experiences. It seems that's the best I can do for now. I've marked each spot with a plastic knife, lets see what comes up next spring :)

Just a followup on my query from last year... those shrivelled bits of stem actually sprouted stems and leaves this year!! Woohoo! Most impressively, the new growth got ding'ed by the cold snap we had a few weeks ago and I thought that must have killed them for good. When I checked them this weekend, more new growth is showing. What little troopers they are! I am so pleased :)

Yup! I thought my Bleeding Hearts were 'goners', too, but I just saw new growth this weekend. Guess they can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. Probably won't be large & showy, but alive is better than nuthin'.

Ilsa

Although this original posting was quite some time ago, I appreciate the occasional check-ins from the posters. I wonder how mamimo's bleeding hearts are doing this year? I similarly bought an inexpensive root (tuber?) and planted it in a nice shady spot over a month ago and have been wondering if I should see any signs of life by now. Perhaps it will not show itself until next spring? Not even a stem has come up and I'm wondering if I planted it upside down. If so, I guess that will be my newbie stupid gardening mistake for the season!