Cleomella arborea
Bright, unusual, and almost endlessly in bloom, Cleomella arborea — better known as Bladderpod — is a quirky California native shrub with a sunny attitude and serious wildlife appeal. Clusters of vivid yellow, four-petaled flowers appear nearly year-round in mild-winter climates, followed (and overlapped) by the plant's signature inflated, papery seed pods that dangle from the branches like little lanterns. Soft, silvery-green foliage rounds out a graceful 3-to-5-foot mounding shrub that always seems to have something interesting going on.
A tough evergreen perennial hardy in zones 8-10, Bladderpod thrives in full sun and the leanest, driest soils, requiring essentially no summer water once established. It's deeply drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, and a magnet for native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Even its specialist herbivore — the strikingly patterned harlequin bug — adds to the wildlife show.
Plant it in a hot, dry border, on a sun-baked slope, or as a quirky focal point in a California-native garden. Pair it with sages, buckwheats, and silvery artemisias for a planting that practically hums with life all year long.
Original: $14.99
-65%$14.99
$5.25
Description
Bright, unusual, and almost endlessly in bloom, Cleomella arborea — better known as Bladderpod — is a quirky California native shrub with a sunny attitude and serious wildlife appeal. Clusters of vivid yellow, four-petaled flowers appear nearly year-round in mild-winter climates, followed (and overlapped) by the plant's signature inflated, papery seed pods that dangle from the branches like little lanterns. Soft, silvery-green foliage rounds out a graceful 3-to-5-foot mounding shrub that always seems to have something interesting going on.
A tough evergreen perennial hardy in zones 8-10, Bladderpod thrives in full sun and the leanest, driest soils, requiring essentially no summer water once established. It's deeply drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, and a magnet for native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Even its specialist herbivore — the strikingly patterned harlequin bug — adds to the wildlife show.
Plant it in a hot, dry border, on a sun-baked slope, or as a quirky focal point in a California-native garden. Pair it with sages, buckwheats, and silvery artemisias for a planting that practically hums with life all year long.
