How do you pronounce the plant named after a nymph from a Greek myth? Here’s a hint: it rhymes with a kid’s favorite sandwich meat. Cha-lo-nee gets its name from the unfortunate mythological character who was turned into turtle when she refused to attend the wedding of Zeus and Hera, thus the name turtlehead.

Either chelone got off easy, or she resembles the prettiest turtle around. The deer resistant turtlehead plants feature tubular-shaped flowers at the end of summer that attract butterflies to the garden.

Latin Name:

Genus Chelone. Turtlehead plants are part of the Scrophulariaceae family, which also includes the similar looking snapdragons and monkey flowers.

Common Names:

• Balmony
• Bitter herb
• Shell flower
• Snakehead
• Turtle bloom
• Turtlehead

Zone:

Turtlehead plants grow best in zones 4-7. The plants are native to the Eastern half of the United States, and they fare poorly in desert areas and in the Southwest.

Size:

2-3 feet tall, spreading to one foot

Exposure:

Partial sun is best, but chelone plants can adapt to full sun and dense shade if the soil and moisture conditions are right.

Bloom Period:

August and September

Description:

The foliage of turtlehead plants is smooth, sometimes shiny, and toothed. Foliage is favored by many caterpillar species, so it can appear quite tattered by the end of the growing season. New growth can have a bronze tint, before maturing to a deep green hue. Flowers grow in a plump tubular shape, and the lower petals of the blossoms have a fuzzy beard.

Planting:

• Turtlehead plants are easy for the moderately experienced gardener to start from seed. They will reach transplant size in approximately six weeks, and will flower in the first season.

• Plants like evenly moist soil heavily amended with leaf mold and compost.

Maintenance:

• It’s nearly impossible to over mulch turtlehead plants with the leaf mulch they love. Pile it deeply around the plants as if you were tucking in a child with fluffy blankets.
• Never allow turtlehead plants to dry out.
• If you choose to place your turtlehead plants in deep shade, pinch them back in the spring to keep them compact, so they won’t flop over.

Design Tips:

Turtlehead plants look somewhat awkward when planted as a single specimen. The plants look best planted in groups of five plants or more. If you’re looking for a streamside plant or a rain garden specimen, turtle head is for you, but they are at home in the suburban landscape paired with other moisture lovers like lobelia or lady’s tresses.

Although most gardeners wouldn’t designate turtlehead as a cutting garden plant, the blooms do make good cut flowers. Cut them when the buds on the top 1/3 portion of the flower spike are still closed. The cut flowers take up a lot of water and will last about a week in the vase.

Varieties:

Several species are recognized as native wildflowers, but not all are sold in cultivation. Named varieties are showier than native species.

• Chelone glabra: White flowers
• Chelone lyonii: Pink flowers
• Chelone obliqua: Red flowers
• Cuthbert’s turtlehead: Uncommon native plant; features yellow bearded purple flowers
• Hot Lips: Dark green foliage, red stems, and rose-pink flowers
• Pink Temptation: A compact variety, topping out at 15 inches