Plant Profile: Turtlehead

 

Turtlehead (Chelone glabra and Chelone lyonii) are native perennials to the Eastern seaboard of the United States. The common name describes the interesting flower shape, which resembles that of a turtle’s beak.

They are hardy to USDA Zones 3 to 8. Turtlehead prefer moist, rich soils in full sun to part shade. They need minimal care, but appreciate an occasional top-dressing with leaf compost.  You can also pinch them back in the late spring if the growth is too tall and leggy.

The plants spread slowly by rhizomes and eventually form large clumps. You can propagate them by division, cuttings, or seed.

Chelone glabra has white flowers, sometimes with a pink tinge. It blooms from August through October. Chelone glabra is a larval host and/or nectar source for the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas phaeton).  Chelone lyonii has pink flowers and is in bloom a bit earlier in the season than Chelone glabra.

A popular cultivar of Chelone lyonii is ‘Hot Lips’, which is a deeper pink flower than the straight species with bronze-green foliage and red stems.

For more about growing Turtleheads, see our Going Native column by Barry Glick in the September 2018 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine (https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2018/09/fall-blooming-japanese-anemone-growing.html).

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Audio and Text by Kathy Jentz
Video and Editing by Melinda Thompson

Footage gathered in part at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.

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Fall-blooming Japanese Anemone, Growing Garlic, Gardening for Wildlife, and much more in the September 2018 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine

The September 2018 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is now out.

You can view it online at:

https://issuu.com/washingtongardener/docs/washingtongardenersept18

Inside this issue:

~ Fall-blooming Japanese Anemone

~ 11 Tips to Help Birds in Your Backyard

~ Turtles in the Garden: Native Chelone Species

~ Quick Pointers for Growing Great Garlic

~ Rooftop to Glass at Firefly

~ Autumn Spider Webs

~ Heirloom Herb Horehound

~ How to Hold More Carbon in Your Soil

~ Local Gardening 101

And much more…

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the October 2018 issue are due by October 1.
 

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