Turtlehead
* Common name: Turtlehead
Pink turtlehead in flower.
* Botanical name: Chelone lyonii
* What it is: Turtlehead is a U.S.-native perennial flower that blooms late summer to early fall. Flowers spikes are white or pink with shield-shaped little bloom clusters that some say remind them of turtle heads.
‘Hot Lips’ is an excellent variety with rosy-pink flowers.
* Size: Plants grow 18 to 24 inches tall, and flower spikes poke up another eight to 12 inches. Space two feet apart.
* Where to use: Turtlehead prefers damp soil and partly shaded spots, especially ones with morning sun and afternoon shade. It’ll take full sun if the soil is good and kept damp.
Good locations include woodland gardens, semi-shaded rain gardens and perennial borders, and eastern or northern house foundations.
* Care: Water in dry spells. Scatter a granular fertilizer formulated for flowers over the bed in early spring.
Flower spikes can be cut off after bloom, then plants can be cut completely to the ground in late fall or any time before early spring after the leaves brown.
Clumps can be dug, divided, and replanted in early spring if they’re becoming crowded or bloom is going downhill.
* Great partners: Shrubs that take similar conditions include hydrangeas, fothergilla, and summersweet. Cherry laurel, leucothoe, azaleas, and rhododendrons are good evergreen partners. Coralbells, hosta, and foamflowers are good perennial partners.