This delicate pastel pink form of a much-loved spring perennial looks set to become an instant favourite
Dicentra spectabilis may have changed its name to
Lamprocapnos spectabilis, but it remains a popular spring perennial with its arching shoots swung with colourful lockets. Relatively few cultivars have been named but all are worth growing.
The form with pure white flowers, ‘Alba’, has been well established for many years and then we had the yellow-leaved form of the species, ‘Gold Heart’.
With its deep red and white flowers and bronze-tinted young foliage, ‘Valentine’ was an instant hit. Now we have another, perhaps destined to be the most popular of all.
‘Cupid’ is generally similar to the species but has pale green foliage and soft pastel pink flowers.
It originated as a sport of the familiar, widely grown species in the garden of Matthew Pryce of Curve Lake, Ontario, Canada. Matthew has a good eye for new and distinctive plants and spotted it in about 2012. After monitoring it for a couple of years, he contacted Pride of Place Plants, a Canadian agency specialising in new plant introductions, who confirmed its value and arranged trials in both North America and Europe in 2015.
With its pale pink flowers and paler, fresh green foliage ‘Cupid’ not only proved distinct and very attractive but retained the vigour of the original species.
Lamprocapnos ‘Cupid’ is available from
Farmer Gracy.
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