Turtleheads - Snap them up!
Chelone
(it rhymes with phoney and baloney) is more commonly known as
Turtlehead. It's not hard to figure out how it got its common
name... those blooms are so adorable that even someone who is not a
turtle fan couldn't resist them. They remind me kids running
around in the rain with their tongues sticking out to catch the
droplets. Chelone was a nymph in Greek mythology who offended the gods
by not attending the wedding of Zeus to Hera. To punish her, they
turned her into a turtle.
I started out having a lot of trouble growing this plant. I
wasn't giving it nearly enough water. It is happy down by the
river where it's feet stay wet most of the time. In my yard it
spends most of it's time in the shade with 2-3 hours of sun in the
afternoon. It will tolerate sun if grown in consistent wetness.
I need to warn you - native caterpillars love this plant so it's
leaves are very often munched on. This plant is a host plant the
endangered "Baltimore Butterfly." Hummingbirds visit this plant
as well but bumblebees are what I usually see. It
is fun watching the bumblebees climb into the "turtle's head" and then
back out hiney first just to hit the next bloom and do it again.
This
native plant is a member of the figwort family. Don't dig this up
if y0u find it in the wild. (Go to VNPS.org to find nurseries that sell only nursery propogated plants.) It is easy to find the pink version
"Hot Lips" at local nurseries. I had a hard time finding
the white variety but a nursery in my area (shameless commercial here -
English Country Gardens) was able to locate some for me.
Growing from 1 - 3 feet, deer generally don't
bother this plant. The blooms come in pink, rose, white and
purplish depending on the variety. One of this plants best
features is the bloom time is from late summer well into the fall.
If turtlehead does not get enough
water or if it is planted where
air cannot circulate, mildew might become a problem. If planted
in too much shade this plant will become leggy and require staking.
If you absolutely want to plant it in an area that is too shady,
you can minimize the legginess by cutting the plant back by 1/3 to 1/2
in late spring. Moving the plant to a place that better suits
it's needs (right plant, right place!) will rectifiy these
problems. Divide this plant in the spring to share it with
friends. If you have a damp area in your yard give this wonderful
native a shot. You won't be disappointed!
Playing with Plants: Pinch the flowers like you would with snapdragons to make them "talk" plus look inside turtlehead's mouth to find fangs!