Turtlehead

Light Needs

Full Shade to Partial Shade

(0 - 4 Hours Of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

6-11 Inches

Mature Spread

2 Feet

Growing Zones

3 to 8

This dependable, late season bloomer with its white flowers tinged with pink provide a burst of color when almost all other perennials have passed. Flowering from late August into fall on plants that are 2 to 3 feet high with an equal spread, this hardy native is deserving of a space in your garden. 

Low maintenance and easy to care for with few insect pests or diseases, this plant produces its flowers at the ends of long columnar stocks. Turtleheads would do well growing in a bog or wetland garden, by a pond, in small groups in the perennial garden, and in a pot or container. Winter hardy in zones 3 to 8. Plants grown in pots or containers would need to be planted in garden soil for the winter where temperatures fall below freezing for an extended period of time and repotted in spring. Native to North America it is not a favorite of deer or small herbivores. Turtleheads do not like dry soil. 

Turtlehead Care

Does well in full sun or partial shade and thrives in wet or moist soil with a slightly acidic pH that is rich in organic matter but well-drained. 

Turtlehead may be cut back to the ground in late fall and clums divided every 2 to 3 years, if desired. Remove any plants grown in pots or containers and plant in garden soil for winter and repot it in the spring. Alternatively, the pots or containers could be stored indoors for the winter in a cool, but sunny area that is above freezing. 

Turtlehead Spacing

Plants should be spaced approximately 1 to 2 feet apart if grown as a mass planting, perennial border planting, patio planting, walkway or pathway planting or if grown in pots or containers.