Chinese Bladdernut Staphylea holocarpa
- Phonetic Spelling
- staf-FEE-lee-ah ho-loh-KAR-puh
- Description
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Staphylea holocarpa, or Chinese Bladdernut, is a deciduous, perennial, large shrub (at a maximum height of 25 feet, it could be considered a small tree). The plant is native to Tibet and China and is often found in moist, mixed forests and shady ravines. Chinese Bladdernut tolerates a wide range of soils, but it prefers a rich loamy soil in a full sun or semi-shade. The plant is not very cold-hardy and does best in milder climates. The plant flowers best in years that follow hot summers.
S. holocarpa ranks alongside S. colchica for garden-worthiness, with plants bearing long panicles of flowers from an early age and when in full flower a large plant is spectacular. It can sucker, affording easy propagation material, but it can also be trained into the form of a small tree.
Diseases, Insects, and Other Plant Problems:
No known issues with this plant. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Staphylea
- Species:
- holocarpa
- Family:
- Staphyleaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Root Cutting
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Tibet to Central & Southern China
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Perennial
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Ascending
- Broad
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- 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:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Capsule
- Fruit Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Description:
- 1.5 to 2 inch capsule. Capsule inflated to pear-shape, base narrow, apex truncate with 3 openings. Seeds shining brown.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Panicle
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Inflorescence displays as a broad, 4 inch long, pendulous panicle, flowering before the leaves have fully emerged. Half-inch flowers of white or soft rosy-pink that bloom in May and June.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Shape:
- Elliptical
- Lanceolate
- Oblong
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Leaves are trifoliolate, mid-green above and paler beneath, sometimes emerging with a bronze flush. Lateral leaflets are subsessile, 1.5 inch petiolule of terminal leaflet; 4 inch leaflets, glabrous or densely pubescent on lower surface when young and pubescent along veins when mature, margin serrulate with hard teeth, apex narrowly acuminate.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Slope/Bank
- Design Feature:
- Barrier
- Small Tree
