If it is a Dicentra, that is what happens, Lbsnoop. It is a herbaceous perennial plant. It will die down completely, and reappear next year. Some people cut down the leaves soon after they finish flowering because they tend to flop over everything. I leave mine until they go yellow, then cut them right back. I think you'll find it is a great garden plant and will increase in size from year to year. When it more than fills its space, it is easy to lift and divide to give you more plants.

I would not call Dicentra a shrub. To me a shrub is woody and larger. It does get bigger slowly each spring and does look good for a few months but I think you are better with another shrub like Deutzia or Mexican Orange Blossom if you have the space.

Sorry new to this dont know my shrubs from my er plants yet:-) so do i cut it at the base? So its a wee stump? Glad its not a gonner as irs pretty

Yes - just cut the stems down to the ground. It might not be a bad idea to put a marker by it so you know where it is - it will disappear completely, then put up new shoots in spring.

I bought a Dicentra at the end of May and it stopped flowering in June. It started going yellow at the base and I too wasn't sure what to do. As soon as I went near it, it flopped everywhere. However I left it and this week there's pink flowers on it again.

Good advice to mark it's spot for when I cut it down!

Thanks guys, good advice:-)

They do sometimes have a second flowering if you cut them back after the first flush, but I don't always time it right. If I don't mark things, I have an awful tendency either to try to plant something on top of it, or put something so close that it has to be moved in the spring!
They are one of my favourites.

Dicentra is a herbaceous perennial LBSnoop, which means it does exactly what everyone describes - shoots up in spring, flowers, then dies down again till next year. Dicentra is noted for its disappearance much earlier than other herbaceous perennials - most of them usually wait till late autumn before disappearing. Just for interest's sake, a shrub is a plant which has a permanent woody framework above ground year round, whether or not it is evergreen.

Cheers guys:-) thanks for all the info