Chelone obliqua Alba

Chelone obliqua var. Alba, also known as Oblique Turtlehead, is the most remarkable of the turtleheads and the easiest to grow in the garden. A perennial with a strong stump, it has rapid growth and will adapt to any moist to damp soil. The floral spikes are dense and the white flowers sometimes turn pale lilac. The shiny, dentate foliage is abundant and a beautiful bright green. It's a carefree plant.

Oblique turtlehead belongs to the family of Scrophulariaceae and is a cousin of Penstemons. It is native to the southeast of the United States and grows in moist woods from Minnesota to Massachusetts. 'Alba' is a cultivar selected for the light colour of its flowers. It is an herbaceous perennial with an upright habit, forming round-sectioned stems. Its growth is quite rapid. It blooms at the end of summer with flowers that are somewhat similar to those of foxgloves but in miniature. Flowers range in colour from pale pink to lavender, with a sparse white beard. They measure 1 to 2 cm (1in) long and are arranged in short, tight terminal spikes. The foliage is composed of shiny dark green leaves, almost sessile (without stalks), ovate to lanceolate, dentate, with well-marked veins, measuring 20 cm (8in) long. Its taproot root is thick and fibrous. It spreads via rhizomes.

Perfectly hardy, Oblique Turtlehead is a voracious plant that requires good amendment at planting. It appreciates moist soils and adapts to any type of soil, clayey, humus-bearing, loamy, acidic, neutral or alkaline, as long as it is deep. Bridging the gap between summer blooms and the flowering of asters, oblique turtlehead is valuable in perennial borders, in the company of geraniums, Lobelia, Rudbeckia and grasses. It will also thrive on the banks and shores of water features, contributing to their stabilisation.