Pink Turtlehead
Chelone lyonii
Puffy rose-pink turtle-shaped blooms in September and October for moist shade. Late fuel for bumblebee queens when little else is flowering.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
The late-season shaded moist-site performer -- bumblebee-exclusive pink blooms in September when the shade garden needs color most.
Pink turtlehead blooms in September and October when most perennials have called it a season. The flowers are tightly closed, puffy-lipped tubes in deep rose-pink that look exactly like the head of a turtle about to surface -- an apt common name for one of our most distinctive native forms. Bumblebees are strong enough to force themselves inside; most smaller insects cannot, making this a specialist bumblebee plant at a time when late-season bumblebee queens need substantial nectar. It thrives in moist to wet conditions and shade, filling the fall garden role in the places where swamp sunflower and asters don't fit. Glossy, dark green foliage holds clean and handsome all season. One of the very few shade-adapted native perennials with genuine late fall color and bloom interest.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown pink turtlehead propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 2–3 ft · 18–24 in wide
- Bloom time
- September–October
- Bloom color
- Pink
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Native range
- Appalachian Mountains from Virginia south to Georgia, in moist to wet mountain coves and stream margins
Care notes for pink turtlehead.
Part sun to full shade in moist to wet soil. Tolerates heavy shade and poor drainage better than most late-blooming perennials. Cut back in early spring. Division every three to four years maintains vigor. Mulch to retain moisture in drier sites.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside pink turtlehead.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.