Staphylea colchica , or Colchis Bladdernut, is an upright, flowering, heavily branched deciduous shrub or small tree, maturing to 10 to 15 feet high and wide. Also known as Caucasian Bladdernut, the shrub is suckering and thicket-forming. It is native to forests at elevations up to 4000 feet in the southern Caucasus mountains. In addition to the attraction of its fragrant blossoms, the seed pods are curiously attractive and remain visible on the shrub in summer and fall. Many gardeners consider this species and its varieties to be the most ornamentally attractive (flowers and fruits) of the bladdernuts. This plant prefers evenly moist, rich, loamy, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade and does best in partial shade. It will tolerate a wide range of soils as long as they are not too dry. It is winter hardy to USDA Zone 6 and should be sited in a protected, south-facing location. Some winter dieback may occur in harsh winters. Do not allow soils to dry out. You can propagate the plant by seeds, cuttings and suckers. A very ornamental plant, it is fairly fast-growing when young, but slows with age. It flowers best in years that follow hot summers. Diseases, Insects, and Other Plant Problems: No serious insect or disease problems. Leaf spot and twig blight may occur. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt)
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 10 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in. | Width: 10 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
2 - Understory (15-40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Oblong; Ovate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf size
3-6 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Three to five inch dark green leaves. Leaves have 3-5 ovate-oblong, hairless, green leaflets with glabrous glossy undersides. Leaves on flowering stems tend to have 3 leaflets, but all other leaves tend to have 5 leaflets.
Flower color
White
Flower value
Fragrant; Good Cut; Showy
Flower form
Panicle
Flower shape
Bell
Flower size
3-6 inches
Flower detail
Greenish-white fragrent blossoms in May and June. Flowers (each to 1/2 inch across) in erect to nodding terminal panicles (to 4 to 5 inches long and as wide). Flowers have a pleasing fragrance which is reminiscent of orange blossoms.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Fruit detail
Flowers are followed by inflated, baggy, two- lobed to three-lobed fruits (seed pods to 3 inches wide) which are commonly characterized as being "bladder-like" in appearance, hence the common name of bladdernut. Each pod contains several hard rounded seeds.
Stem detail
Upright; heavily branched suckering shrub to small tree; sometimes widespread.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Caucasus
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall; Summer
Fruit type
Capsule
Edibility
The buds, preserved in brine and seasoned with raw onion and vegetable oil, are a common dish in the country of Georgia.