Go figure! It sounds like something my little brother would have called me, back in the day!  However, it’s a plant’s name, not an insult.  The scientific name is “Chelone obliqua”, but the common name is “turtlehead”.  Someone must have had a great imagination!  I’ve also seen it called “twisted shell flower” by the Royal Horticultural Society; “pink turtlehead”, “rose turtlehead”, “shellflower”, “snakehead”, “cod head”, “fish mouth”, “balmony” or “bitter herb”.  Whatever you call it, it’s a plant worth growing.

Growing Turtlehead

I may have bought a small pot of it at Hastings’ Greenhouse several years ago, I honestly don’t remember.  I planted it in a nearly impossible spot; next to a tree trunk, deep shade, and not so great soil.  Then, like the overly optimistic fool that I am, I planted a hydrangea close by it.  I wouldn’t have blamed it if it had died.

For the first three or so years, it didn’t die, but it didn’t do much, being crowded more and more by the hydrangea. It did manage to put out a few, bright pink blooms after the third year.  The fourth and fifth year, I kept thinking, “I need to move that”, but I didn’t have a better place to transplant it.

Last year, I finally transplanted it to the Fern Bed, which has lovely soil, deep shade, mulch to conserve soil moisture and gets watered more often than most of the garden. This year, good ol’ Turtlehead has out done itself:  glossy dark green foliage, sturdy stems, a nice clumping habit and loads of pink blooms for over a month and still blooming.

This is another instance where I should have done some research before I bought it on impulse…however, this time it worked out just fine! Native to the eastern U.S., it grows in Zones 5 to 9,  tolerates (maybe even LIKES) clay soil and will be happy in full shade, part shade or even full sun if the soil is wet – it will even grow in a bog garden!

It took being transplanted like a real trooper and can be divided. Although I haven’t tried this, you should be able to propagate it by root cuttings.

The two-lipped, tubular blooms hint that it’s related to snapdragons, penstemon and foxglove. I’m guessing that bees and hummingbirds like it; the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly caterpillars use it as a host plant. Most amazing of all – did I mention the deer don’t like it?

Stay Green, good friends!