Balmony

Year-round

White turtlehead is native to Ohio, including the Columbus area, according to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. It naturally grows in wet ditches, stream banks, and low meadows, so in a home garden it does best in a consistently moist spot with rich soil. The plant is a larval host for the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly, so its leaves are meant to be eaten by caterpillars. It stays a tidy clump one to three feet tall and blooms white to pink in late summer.

• Plant in full sun to part shade with soil that stays moist to wet, mulch helps hold moisture between rains.
• Give it rich, organic soil, a low spot or rain garden area works well.
• Expect a clump one to three feet tall that spreads slowly by rhizomes, not an aggressive spreader.
• Leave chewed leaves alone in summer, they likely mean Baltimore checkerspot caterpillars are feeding.
• Division in spring is the easiest way to make more plants.

Fall

Fall is when turtlehead earns its keep, with white to pink snapdragon-like flowers opening from late summer into October in the Columbus area. Hummingbirds and bumblebees visit the blooms, and the stems hold themselves up without staking. Once the flowers fade and stems brown, you can cut them back for a tidier look, or leave them standing for winter interest.

• Enjoy the bloom, flowers usually run from late summer into October here.
• Watch for hummingbirds and bumblebees working the flowers.
• Staking is rarely needed, the stems hold themselves up.
• Cut back spent stems once flowers fade and stems brown, or leave them up for winter interest.

Cutting back browned stems near the street-facing edge of the bed keeps the planting looking tidy through fall cleanup season.

Winter

Turtlehead is hardy through Columbus winters and needs no special protection once established. Leaving the dead stems standing gives overwintering insects a place to shelter, and cutting them back in late winter before new growth starts works just as well. A layer of mulch over the root zone helps a newly planted clump get through its first winter.

• No winter protection needed for established plants in this area.
• Leave old stems standing through winter if you want to support overwintering insects.
• Cut back dead stems in late winter before new shoots emerge, if you would rather have a clean start.
• Mulch the root zone of a first year planting to help it get through its first winter.

A late winter cutback of old stems, before new growth starts, keeps the bed tidy for anyone viewing it from the street.

Spring

In the Columbus area turtlehead is slow to show itself in spring, new shoots often do not appear until other perennials are already up, so do not assume it died over winter. Keep the soil moist while it wakes up, since dry spring soil around the crown can set the plant back. Spring is also the best time to divide an established clump.

• Wait for shoots, they emerge later in spring than many other perennials.
• Keep the root zone moist through spring, dry spells before the plant is established can slow it down.
• Divide overgrown clumps now if you want to spread turtlehead to another moist spot.
• Pinch stem tips once growth is a few inches tall to keep plants bushier, especially in shadier spots.

Summer

Columbus summers get hot and humid, and turtlehead needs steady moisture through that stretch since it naturally grows in wet ground. A layer of mulch and regular watering during dry weeks keep it from wilting. You may see chewed leaves this time of year from Baltimore checkerspot caterpillars, a native butterfly that relies on this plant, according to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

• Water deeply during dry summer stretches, this plant does not tolerate drought well.
• Mulch around the base to hold moisture and keep roots cool.
• Chewed leaves in summer are often Baltimore checkerspot caterpillars feeding, leave them be.
• Full sun spots may need more frequent watering than part shade spots.