Woody > Staphylea > Staphylea colchica > Staphylea colchica
Staphylea colchica
Bladdernut, Caucasian Bladdernut
Origin: Native to forests in the southern Caucasus mountains.
| Family |
| Staphyleaceae |
| Genus |
| Staphylea |
| Species |
| colchica |
| Category |
| Woody |
| Type |
| Shrub (deciduous) |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 6 - 7 |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| 7 - 8 |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H7 - H5 |
| Temperature (°C) |
| (-20) - (-10) |
| Temperature (°F) |
| (-4) - (14) |
| Height |
| 3 - 4.5 m |
| Spread |
| 3 - 4.5 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| Leaves on flowering stems tend to have 3 leaflets, but all other leaves tend to have 5 leaflets. |
| Landscape |
| Shrub borders, woodland margins, shade gardens, naturalized areas, and hedges. |
| Cultivation |
| Grow in evenly moist, rich, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Best in part shade. |
| Pests |
| Leaf spot and twig blight. |
| Habitat |
| It is native to forests at elevations up to 1220m in the southern Caucasus mountains. |
| Leaf Description |
| Pinnate compound leaves have 3-5 ovate-oblong, hairless, green leaflets each to 10 cm long with fine serrate margins and glabrous glossy undersides. |
| Flower Description |
| Bell-shaped, five-petaled, greenish-white flowers each to 1.5 cm across; bloom in spring (May-June) in erect to nodding terminal panicles. |
| Fruit Description |
| A Inflated, baggy, two- lobed to three-lobed fruit (seed pods to 10 cm wide) which are commonly characterized as being "bladder-like" in appearance, hence the common name of bladdernut. Each pod contains several hard rounded seeds. Pods are curiously attractive and remain visible on the shrub in summer and fall. |
| Texture Description |
| Flowers have a pleasing fragrance which is reminiscent of orange blossoms. |
| Notable Specimens |
| Caerhays Castle, Goran, Cornwall, United Kingdom. |
| Propagation |
| Propagate by seed, cuttings and suckers. |
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