Rose turtlehead
Chelone obliqua · Plantaginaceae
Stiff, upright stems of glossy, dark leaves end in tight spikes of rose-pink flowers shaped like the head of a turtle with its mouth open.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Mid August to late September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around rose turtlehead
The planner designed this bed around rose turtlehead when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why rose turtlehead stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Rose turtlehead × 3, pink
- 2 Bloody cranesbill × 4, white
- 3 Green-and-gold × 13, yellow
- 4 Swamp milkweed × 3, pink
- 5 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 6 Coneflower 'Kim's Knee High' × 3, pink
- 7 Sicilian honey garlic × 3, cream
- 8 Grecian windflower × 10, blue
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are open bowls, daisies, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over globe arborvitae 'Danica' (24 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to coneflower 'Kim's Knee High' (20 in) and Sicilian honey garlic (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From mid August to late September.
- Closes the season. For its last four weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 27 of the 27 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. In winter there is still globe arborvitae 'Danica' to look at. The back corners are held by swamp milkweed and Sicilian honey garlic, the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where rose turtlehead goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Solid, tidy and late: it fills the gap between summer phlox and autumn asters in damp soil, and never needs staking. It is slow to spread and easy to keep.
- Late-summer colour in damp soil
- Rain gardens and pond sides
- Part shade
What to plant with rose turtlehead
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Cardinal flower: in flower together for five weeks, from mid August.
- Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe': in flower together for four weeks, from mid August; bold leaves against its medium ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- Tufted hair grass: in flower together for two weeks, from mid August; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about rose turtlehead
Does rose turtlehead need sun or shade?
Rose turtlehead grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water.
What zones does rose turtlehead grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does rose turtlehead flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid August to late September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Mid August to late September |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid August to late September |
| Zone 7 | Early August to late September |
| Zone 8 | Early August to late September |
| Zone 9 | Early August to late September |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should rose turtlehead be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (80 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many rose turtlehead plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is rose turtlehead poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat rose turtlehead?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after rose turtlehead?
Rose turtlehead is over by late September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- October daphne: from mid September to late October, 8 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Autumn crocus: from mid September to mid October, 5 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Aromatic aster 'October Skies': from mid September to late October, 20 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does rose turtlehead look like in winter?
Rose turtlehead dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
Is rose turtlehead good for bees and butterflies?
Rose turtlehead is visited by pollinators, butterflies and hummingbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of baltimore checkerspot feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States.
More Chelone
- Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' Chelone lyonii 'Hot Lips'
- White turtlehead Chelone glabra
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Native plants for shade
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Plants that flower in fall
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (80 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid August to late September; upright spires; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Comes from
- Southeastern U.S.A
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds
- Host plant for
- Baltimore checkerspot
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.