Creamy white snapdragon like flowers in tight heads at the top of the plant give a fresh display in late summer (August and September). Flowers resemble a turtle’s head. Attractive shiny dark green foliage really sets of the flowers and creates a good backdrop for earlier flowering plants. The major host of the Baltimore butterfly (when within butterfly species’s range) — a large black butterfly with white and orange spots.
Native Plant Database
Header Photo: Mervin Wallace
White Turtlehead
Chelone glabra
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennials
Native Environment: Stream Edge, Wetland
Season of Interest: Late (July - frost), Winter (Nov - Mar)
Main Color: White
Fall Color:
USDA PLANTS Range Map
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Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Medium Sun/Average Shade
Soil
Moisture
Moderate, High
Nature Attracting
Butterfly, Pollinators/Beneficial Insects
Wildlife Benefit
Food/Birds
Animal
Resistance
Size
Height:
2 to
4
feet
Spread:
2 to
feet
Size
Height: 2 to
4
feet
Spread: 2 to
feet
Size
Height: 2 to
4
feet
Spread: 2 to
feet
Typical Landscape Use
Rain gardens, bog gardens, butterfly and pollinator gardens that are suitable for marsh milkweed and other moisture-loving species.
Establishment and Care Instructions
Full sun, Turtlehead prefers moist soil and is tolerant of very wet conditions. Adaptable to ordinary garden soil. Can be "pinched" to reduce height through the early summer.
Special Features
Special Usage
Basic Description
Where Should I Start?
Check out the Grow Native! Committee’s Top Ten picks of native plants for a particular purpose.
What’s the Next Step?
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Where Can I Find This Plant in Nature?
Learn about the Native Environment(s) inhabited by the plants in this database.