The southern half of the formation is completely missing, and Gärtner forms a semi-circular basin along the edges of the lunar mare.

The surviving parts of the crater rim are heavily worn and eroded, with notches and indentations formed by past impacts.

A rille designated Rima Gärtner runs from the midpoint of the crater toward the northeast rim, for a total length of about 30 kilometers.

The bowl-shaped craterlet Gärtner D is located near the midpoint between the two ends of the crater rim.

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Gärtner.