turtleweed
Batis maritima · Bataceae
turtleweed (Batis maritima) is a perennial shrub in the Bataceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 8 and warmer, down to about 17°F.
At a glance
| Type | shrub USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 0.1 ft USDA |
| Light | full-sun USDA |
| Water need | medium USDA |
| Growth rate | moderate USDA |
| Soil pH | 4–7.9 USDA |
| Bloom | May–June USDA |
| Flower color | Green USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 8 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | shrub Derived |
| Nursery availability | Routinely Available USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It needs full sun. USDA rates it as having moderate water needs. Its drought tolerance is rated medium. It handles periodically wet ground (USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance medium). It is recorded on soils from pH 4 to 7.9 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 8.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 0.1 ft, making it a low, mat-forming plant. It grows at a moderate rate.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of May through June. Flowers are green.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is green, medium in texture. Its flowers are not conspicuous — a plant for form and foliage. Its active growth period is spring. USDA rates its lifespan as moderate.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 28 to 60 inches of annual precipitation. It needs at least 200 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 6 inches. Fertility requirement: low — no feeding needed on ordinary garden soil.
Propagating it
Propagate it from seed, bare root and container stock. USDA records no cold-stratification requirement, so seed should germinate without a chilling period. Its seed spreads at a slow rate. It spreads vegetatively at a slow rate.
Resilience and wildlife
Browsing animals rate it barely palatable — the sourced basis for calling it deer-resistant. Its growth form is recorded as stoloniferous.
Role in a guild
Shrub layer. In a layered planting this is woody mid-level structure between the understory and the ground. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Similar role and hardiness
- bushy seaside tansy Borrichia frutescens
- Arabian coffee Coffea arabica
- Florida hopbush Dodonaea viscosa
- Carolina desert-thorn Lycium carolinianum
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol BAMA5, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, Bloom, Bloom end, browse palatability, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, seed spread rate, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, Type, vegetative spread rate, Water need.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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