Heart-shaped leaves add charm and romance to any outdoor space. Their distinctive cordate shape makes them stand out in gardens, patios, and porches. I’ve rounded up 12 of the best outdoor plants with gorgeous heart-shaped foliage to help you add some love to your yard.
1. Bleeding Heart Vine (Dicentra spectabilis)
The name of this old favorite comes from the rows of pink and white heart-shaped flowers that hang gracefully from arching stems. Bleeding heart blooms profusely in late spring, and its fern-like green leaves stay green all summer before going dormant in the fall. It grows best in shady places and can get as tall and wide as 2 feet.
2. Hosta
People love hostas because they have a lot of different heart-shaped leaves in different sizes and beautiful patterns. “Blue Angel” hosta has huge, corded, blue-green leaves that are more than 12 inches long. “Little Wonder” is a dwarf hosta with heart-shaped green leaves that have white edges. Plant hostas as groundcovers or edgers in shade gardens.
3. Persian Cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum)
This lovely houseplant blooms in the winter and has heart-shaped silver and green leaves that grow from the tuber and last until summer. From late fall to spring, thin white, red, or pink flowers grow on straight stems above the leaves. Grow cyclamen in a bright, cool spot indoors.
4. Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
With its trailing stems of variegated heart-shaped leaves, golden pothos is a popular and easy care houseplant. It thrives in bright indirect light indoors, where it can cascade attractively from shelves or climb moss poles. Move it outdoors in warm weather to let its vines spread.
5. Jack Frost Brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’)
‘Jack Frost’ Siberian bugloss is prized for its eye-catching silver and green heart-shaped leaves marked with thin white veins. This shade-loving perennial adds beauty and texture to garden beds and borders. Sprays of small blue forget-me-not-like flowers appear in spring.
6. Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea)
Creeping Charlie is a tough evergreen ground cover that does well in shady spots. It has round, kidney-shaped green leaves that grow in a mat, and in the spring, tiny bluish-purple flowers show up. It can spread aggressively, so keep it contained. The young leaves are edible and have a minty flavor.
7. Redbud Tree (Cercis canadensis)
Redbud is a graceful flowering understory tree. Clusters of pea-like magenta flowers cover its zig-zag branches in early spring before the heart-shaped leaves emerge. The foliage starts out reddish-bronze before turning green. Plant redbud trees for multi-season interest and as an underplanting for larger shade trees.
8. Lime Tree (Tilia × europaea)
The common lime tree has heart-shaped green leaves that turn bright yellow in fall This large shade tree produces clusters of fragrant yellow-green flowers in early summer Its dense canopy provides cool shade in landscapes and its flowers attract pollinators.
9. Morning Glory (Ipomoea)
Fast-growing morning glory vines are annuals in temperate climates but perennial in tropics. They produce an abundance of trumpet-shaped flowers in shades of purple, blue and pink all summer and into fall. The heart-shaped leaves come in green or variegated forms. Grow morning glories on fences, arbors, and trellises.
10. Heartleaf Philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum)
This popular indoor vine has long heart-shaped green leaves that trail gracefully in hanging baskets or climb up poles and trellises. Keep its soil slightly moist and place in bright, indirect light. Move philodendron plants outdoors in warm weather to let them spread on patios and porches.
11. Sweetheart Plant (Philodendron scandens)
Similar to heartleaf philodendron, this vining plant has lush green heart-shaped leaves borne on long graceful stems. It’s easy to grow indoors or outdoors in warm climates. As a houseplant, let its vines trail from hanging baskets or train them up moss poles and trellises. Outdoors, use as a groundcover.
12. String of Hearts (Ceropegia woodii)
This beautiful succulent houseplant has trailing stems covered in delicate heart-shaped silvery green leaves with purple undersides. Its rosette form cascades gracefully in hanging baskets indoors. Thrives in bright, indirect light. Protect from frost but can go outside in summer.
The cordate leaves of these plants add romance and charm to gardens, patios, porches, and indoor plant displays. Their uniquely shaped foliage stands out, creating delightful focal points. With proper care, these beauties will keep your outdoor and indoor spaces looking lovely for years to come. Let your heart guide you to pick those perfect for your space.
1 Persian Cyclamen
- BOTANICAL NAME: Cyclamen persicum
- HARDINESS RATING: H1C
- PLANT TYPE: houseplant
- FOLIAGE: deciduous
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): winter / spring
The Persian Cyclamen is another plant that can handle frost and is usually grown indoors. In the winter and spring, it has pink and white flowers on stems that stand straight up.
The rounded green leaves are often variegated and can be tinged with silver before going dormant over the summer months.
I love this plant because, unlike many deciduous houseplants, cyclamen lose their leaves in the summer. But they come back in the fall, giving your home color when you need it most.
1 Morning Glory ‘Grandpa Otts’
- BOTANICAL NAME: Ipomoea purpurea ‘Grandpa Otts’
- HARDINESS RATING: H1C
- PLANT TYPE: shrub / climber / annual
- FOLIAGE: deciduous
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
A frost-tender shrub, usually grown as an annual, Morning Glory ‘Grandpa Otts’ is grown as an annual and looks great when grown against some kind of support, like a trellis or against a wall.
With large funnel-shaped blooms that come in shades of purple, blue and pink and heart-shaped green leaves, this deciduous climber will make a unique addition to your garden, especially during the summer and autumn months.
13 Indoor Plants With Heart Shaped Leaves | Heart Shape Leaf Houseplants
FAQ
What outdoor plants have heart-shaped leaves?
Here are 20 plants with heart-shaped leaves to give your home and yard some love. 01 of 20. Heart-Shaped Hoya. The Spruce / Cori Sears. 02 of 20. String of Hearts Plant. 03 of 20. Heart-Leaf Philodendron. 04 of 20. Pothos. 05 of 20. Anthurium. 06 of 20. Cyclamen. 07 of 20. Split-Leaf Philodendron. 08 of 20. Foxglove Tree.
What is the plant with heart-shaped leaves called?
Hoya kerrii is commonly called Hoya heart, Valentine plant, or Sweetheart plant because of its heart-shape form.
What plant has hanging heart-shaped leaves?
The String of Hearts plant, also known as Ceropegia woodii, is a popular trailing succulent with delicate heart-shaped leaves that cascade down in long vines. This plant is native to South Africa and is loved for its unique appearance and easy care requirements.
What are the weeds with heart-shaped leaves?
The Japanese Morning Glory is a broadleaf plant that has heart-shaped leaves. The plant has become a weed in the San Joaquin Valley in California, especially on cotton farms. Some people grow it on purpose.
What is an invasive vine with heart-shaped leaves?
Giant Bindweed, white morning glory (Calystegia sylvatica) is an extremely invasive vine from Southern Europe, with heart-shaped leaves and large white morning-glory flowers. It forms dense, deep networks of fleshy white to pink roots.
What is a woody plant with heart-shaped leaves?
Once considered a variety of paper birch (Betula papyrifera), heart-leaved paper birch is distinct in its variably heart-shaped, many-veined leaves, its pinkish-brown bark, and its restriction to high-elevation Appalachian and northern habitats.