Chelone is one of the few plants where the scientific name and the common name agree with each other. The word "Chelone" is from the Greek word for tortoise and refers to the resemblance of the top of the flower to the shell of a tortoise. The common name of turtlehead refers to the entire flower resembling the head of a turtle with its mouth open. You can amaze all your friends and relatives, especially the young and more gullible ones, by squeezing and releasing the sides of a blossom to make it "talk".
If you have a backyard habitat, or simply enjoy butterflies in your garden, white turtlehead provides foliage for egg-laying and larval food for the Baltimore Checkerspot.
Turtleheads provide color in the garden during late summer and early fall. Dependant upon the species you choose for your garden, you can have turtleheads blooming from July through October. There are some six species native to eastern North America and quite a few cultivars and forms to choose from. Of the six species, at least three are not difficult to locate in catalogs and garden centers. So, while the plant is just a bit out of the ordinary, it is obtainable. I do wonder at times why this hardy perennial native is not seen more often in gardens.
Dependant upon the species, Chelone is hardy from zone 3 through 8. At the very least 5 through 8. In all the years I have grown turtlehead I have never seen a disease or insect problem on foliage or flower. The stems are mostly stiffly upright and carry blossoms at the top of the foliage. Leaves are in pairs with serrated edges.
In native habitats Chelone can usually be located growing in moist to wet soils. However, the additional moisture is not an absolute must in gardens. Turtlehead will perform just fine in decent garden soil with a bit of compost added, then topped off with an organic mulch such as chopped leaves or hardwood fines.
The further south one gardens the more protection from full sun is needed, and/or more consistent extra moisture. If they are allowed to stay dry too long the leaf margins will curl and brown. Turtlehead needs all the light they can get, without being in the late afternoon sun, for strong stems and good flowering.
Chelone glabra, or the white turtlehead, is the most widespread of our native species. Count on at least three feet in height in the garden, and up to four feet when grown in a damp to wet soil. Blooms begin in August and end sometime in October. Chelone lyonii, the pink turtlehead, is native to Tennessee and North Carolina, so a good selection to withstand heat in more southern gardens. However, it is perfectly hardy into at least zone 5. There is a cultivar named 'Hot Lips' with red in the stems, glossy foliage and rose-pink flowers. Blooms period is from July through September.
Chelone obliqua, or rosy turtlehead, has more narrow, longer, leaves and reaches only two feet, or so, in height. Stems often have some arch to them. Some of my favored companion plants in the garden are cardinal flower and the great blue lobelia, and obedient plant. Some native Asters and Joe pye weed would make great tall statements.