Staphylea colchica

Staphylea colchica
Colchis bladdernut

SIZE/TYPE	medium-sized shrub
	small tree
USUAL HEIGHT	2-3.5m
USUAL WIDTH	2-3m
LEAVES	deciduous broadleaf
COLOUR OF LEAVES	green
FLOWERS	showy
COLOUR OF FLOWERS	white
BLOOMING TIME	April - May
LOCATION	full sun
SOIL TYPE	any (acidic to alkaline)
SOIL MOISTURE REQUIREMENTS	evenly moist (dislikes drought)
USDA zone (lowest)	5b (down to -27°C)
WINTER PROTECTION
FOR ZONE 5+6
FOR ZONE 7
BELONGS TO CATEGORIES	Deciduous broadleaf Rarities

This bladdernut species comes from Colchis - nowadays Georgia in Caucasus, and represents one of the oldest melliferous plants of the region. There are records saying that it was also grown in large pots so it could be moved to greenhouses in winter and forced to earlier production of flowers.

Bladdernut is cultivated mainly for its highly decorative and strongly fragrant flowers in mid spring. They are small, white, with narrow, tousled petals, sweetly scented, composed in pendent, up to 12 cm long racemes that resemble fringe tree inflorescence. They are followed by small, hard-shell capsules in autumn. Leaves are deciduous, compound mostly of 5 (seldom 3), fresh green, narrowly ovate leaflets with pointed tips, turning yellow in autumn.

It grows moderately into a small tree or medium tall, upright shrub when young, spreading to about 3m in maturity. It is soil adaptable, provided it is well-drained. It does best in moist soil, full sun or part shade. Pruning is usually not needed but can be done after flowering - flowers appear on previous year's wood. Fully hardy to min. -25°C (USDA zone 5b) but is expected to withstand a few degrees lower.

Last update 22-04-2019

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GLOSSARY

STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.