Decemberfind Cheer In The Garden

One might reasonably wonder if the common name has anything to do with the fact that this shrub is not found in every summer-dry garden. Bladderpod, sometimes called burro-fat, blooms almost year round. It thrives in almost any soil and needs no summer water. It’s fast growing and easy from seed. It’s a powerful draw for pollinators and an excellent habitat plant. This summer-dry native deserves wider use.

Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea) bears clusters of golden yellow flowers almost year round.

Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea) is found throughout a wide native range, from coastal bluffs to inland valleys to desert washes and foothills from near sea level up to about 4,000 feet in southern California, Arizona, and northwestern Mexico. In California, one or another of its three varieties is native as far north as Monterey, Madera, and Inyo counties.

Bladderpod is an evergreen shrub, 3-6 feet tall and slightly wider, with grayish green leaves consisting of three narrowly oval leaflets. A densely branching shrub, it needs no pruning but older plants can be cut back hard to renew.

Peak flowering is in winter and spring, but clusters of bright yellow, spidery flowers with exerted stamens are present almost year round, along with tightly packed, unopened buds and decorative, inflated seedpods, green when new and at maturity light brown.

Flowers, unopened buds, and inflated seedpods are present at the same time.

Flowers provide a year-round source of nectar for hummingbirds as well as bees, butterflies, and other insects. Seeds are a food source for quail and many songbirds. Plants provide dense cover and nesting sites for birds and small mammals.

Bladderpod blooms in a Los Angeles backyard habitat garden.

Reasonable drainage and full sun are all this adaptable plant requires. It thrives in alkaline and saline soils and tolerates coastal salt spray and temperatures from below zero to over 100 degrees. In the hottest climates a little afternoon shade may be appreciated.

Is there nothing negative about this plant? It must be said that compounds released when leaves are damaged (think pruning or otherwise working among them) have an odor that is unpleasant to some people. Others find the fragrance interesting and unique or smell nothing at all.