Chelone 'Hot Lips'

Chelone 'Hot Lips': Puckered Blooms Bringing August Heat

With a name like 'Hot Lips', this turtlehead was always going to cause talk at the garden club. Rose-pink hooded blooms pucker up for the bumblebees, who crawl right in without asking. NO PDA IN THE BORDER, PLEASE.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Chelone lyonii 'Hot Lips'
• Common Name: Pink Turtlehead
• Height: 60–90 cm (2–3 ft)
• Spread: 60–75 cm (24–30 in)
• Flowers: Rose-pink, hooded blooms shaped like a turtle's head, in dense clusters at the stem tips
• Bloom Time: Late summer to early fall (August to September)
• Foliage: Glossy, dark green leaves that emerge bronze-tinted, on reddish stems
• Features: Selection of a southern Appalachian species, usually ignored by rabbits, tolerates clay

Where to Plant: Plant it where the soil stays damp: rain gardens, pond edges, low spots and moist borders. It tolerates heavy clay, which is good news for a lot of Toronto and Ottawa gardens. Its tidy, upright clump fits the middle of a border and brings colour when most summer perennials are done.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Hot Lips' in moist to wet soil in sun or part shade with dark leaves and bold red. Sagina 'Aurea' carpets the front at 2 to 5 cm with golden moss-like leaves. Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' adds black, grass-like tufts at 15 to 25 cm. Eupatorium 'Chocolate' brings dark leaves and white flowers at 90 to 120 cm from August to October. Hibiscus Summerific® 'Valentine's Crush' opens bright red blooms at 150 cm in July and August.

Plant Care: Plant in rich, moist soil in part shade, or in full sun if the soil never dries out. Water regularly through the first season and during dry spells. A layer of mulch keeps the roots cool and damp. For shorter, bushier plants with more flower heads, pinch back the stem tips in late spring. Staking is rarely needed. Cut the stems back in late fall or early spring. The clump spreads slowly by rhizomes. Divide it in spring every few years if you want more plants or it outgrows its space.

History: 'Hot Lips' is a selection of Chelone lyonii, a turtlehead native to stream banks and rich woods in the southern Appalachian Mountains, named for early American botanist John Lyon. The selection is credited to Pennsylvania nurseryman Dale Hendricks.

Final Thoughts: It handles clay, the deer usually skip it, and the late show is pure flirt. Plant it and pretend to be scandalized. THE BUMBLEBEES CERTAINLY AREN'T.