Bladdernut
Staphylea trifolia
Bladdernut is one of those native shrubs that rewards the gardener who pays attention. Clusters of white bell-shaped flowers hang from arching branches in spring, fragrant and attractive to native bees at a time when the understory calendar is still filling up. What follows is even more unusual: inflated papery green seed pods, like small Chinese lanterns, rattle in the breeze through summer and fall. They're botanical novelties. and genuinely beautiful. This is a shrub for shaded or partially shaded spots near a stream or in a moist woodland edge. It spreads slowly by suckers to form a colony over time, excellent for slope stabilization or naturalizing under taller deciduous canopy. An underused plant that earns admiration from anyone who gets close enough to notice.
We grow a range of sizes and prices. Add the plant to your list, then pick your size when you visit.
Final price confirmed at pickup, depends on size and season.
- Thu, Jul 238 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Jul 248 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Jul 258 AM – 2 PM
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown bladdernut propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Part sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 5'–10'
- Bloom
- Fragrant white spring flowers, inflated papery pod 'lanterns' through summer and fall, winter sucker structure.
- USDA zones
- 3-8
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside bladdernut.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle 9–12 species that work together. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Butterfly Package
Host and nectar plants chosen to feed monarchs, swallowtails, and fritillaries spring through fall.
Hummingbird Package
Tubular-flowered natives that pull ruby-throats through your yard April through October.
S.O.S. Package
Save Our Songbirds, berry- and seed-bearing natives that feed nesting and migrating birds.