Mountain Laurel

Of all the flowers I have, this is the one that I'm most proud to have.
Andy P

Here is a cluster. Note the shape of the buds, so intricate.
Andy P

Very nice Andy. Love that pale, blush color.

Victor

It's so pretty, Andy. Do you know which cultivar? I've never actually seen one. Just in catalogs. And I had to have one. I put in a heather garden in the spring of '05 with some dwarf conifers for structure and winter interest and....one kalmia latifolia. I've been dying to see it in bloom. I asked the landscaper for 'Elf'. I wanted a dwarf and was looking for pink blooms. But I never saw the tag, and they don't seem to take me seriously when I ask for a specific cultivar. It's been covered in beautiful deep pink buds for a couple of weeks. There are a few open now - white. gram

Thanks Victor.
Gram, You may be better off with a standard one, they grow very slowly. I like your color.
Mine was collected from a friends wooded lot, wild.
It was beaten up in the last heavy storm, lost a lot of flower bud clusters were broken off.
Here is what it looked like last June, one of the first pics with this camera. It's about 30 years old.
Andy P

Andy P,
Of all the mean-spirited, spiteful, sadistic, cruel, and despicable things that one person could do to others on the internet, posting beautiful pictures of mountain laurels in gorgeous bloom, knowing full well that Midwestern gardeners would have no choice but to see them is about the lowest of the low that I've ever seen. But go ahead and keep doing it, since seeing other people's pictures is the closest most of us will ever get to growing them :)

Actually, surprisingly, I have got one alive and green and putting on good growth. Last year I got flowers, but no growth. This year growth, but no flowers. I built a good raised bed especially for low pH plants, and planted about five MLs. This is the last remaining old soldier. I keep waiting for it to surrender its spirit, but not so far. I think it is "Carousel."

Scott

How lovely in full bloom. I've been thinking about getting another one. I guess this is all I need to push me over the edge :-) thanks for sharing. That's too bad about the storm, but if it's made it 30 years, I guess it can weather this, too. I'm reluctant to get a standard because I have to keep the height down in this bed. We live in a new development on a manmade lake and we're not 'allowed' to block anyone else's view of the lake.

Beautiful photos! I'm jealous. I've tried Kalmia a few times and it just doesn't like it this far north. I'll probably try it a few more times because it is so beautiful. Lovely plants everyone has posted photos of. Truly lovely.

Very Nice Andy!

My daughter wants to get one since her name is Laurel - just too iffy here.

This is one plant I'm going to have to get out of my system. While vacationing in western NC recently it seemed you couldn't drive more than a couple of miles without seeing it in bloom. With its reputation for being "needy", I was surprised to see it growing in fairly inhospitable sites. Rice Creek Gardens in Minneapolis sells a couple of cultivars, one of which (Eloise Butler) has supposedly been growing there for 75 years. Leftwood can probably fill us in on the history of this plant. I've got a spot that I've been saving for something special and I think Mtn. L. is it. Humousy, moist, well drained acid soil with afternoon shade. If I can't grow it there then it ain't gonna happen.

Which Kalmia do you have your eye on for that spot you're reserving?

We have a wild-collected one here (zone 5) about 10 years old that does OK on a north slope with circum-neutral silty-clay soil, morning shade, and limited afternoon sun. It gets more sun now that another tree was removed last year, and this is the first year it's bloomed, coincidence or not. It's not very big (about two feet) because it was broken off once and nibbled back by rabbits a couple of times, but it seems to be picking up a little speed these past two years now that it gets more light.

Guy S.

Not to rub salt on anyones wound but we have mountain laurels growing wild at our farm in the NC mountains along with flame azaleas and giant rhododendrons (rose bay)

The laurels are blooming now.The azaleas mid May and the rose bay end of June beginning of July.When the rose bay are blooming it is spectacular but otherwise it is a fight to keep them in check.Their canopy is so dense that not much can grow under it.Since I have been thinning them around the house many more laurels and flame azaleas have been blooming.

Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus is the laurel I am referring too.

Equil,

The area is roughly 15' x 30', and I'm thinking it might be best to try a few different varieties. Maybe start with three and see how things go. A few under consideration (in addition to Eloise Butler) are Sarah, Peppermint, Olympic Wedding, and Little Linda. I think all of these were developed by Dick Jaynes, and are listed as hardy to z4, although that might be a case of zone stretching. I'm open to any suggestions, however. The only thing I'm certain of is I want them to look as nice as the OP's. ;)

Since I'm basically devoid of design skills, I've attached a photo of the area and would welcome any suggestions for planting (and not limited to just Kalmia). I am sooo tired of mowing this area and it's way too nice of a spot for grass anyway. Its a complete waste of fuel, physical effort and soil in its current use. The picture is looking NW to SE.

Bob

Bob, Mine is on the East side of the house, protected from the harsh winter winds.
You may have better luck if you set up some type of wind break for them, they are evergreen and can dry out in the winter.
Good luck.
Andy P

Andy,

You can't see it in the pic, but just off to the right out of site behind the Redbuds are large White Pines that put this area into shade by mid afternoon. Its really a more protected site than it would seem, but my biggest concern would be they are still going to get too much sun. To the left of the site is a 20' Yellowwood and a smaller Korean Mountain Ash, which looks like it has finally decided it wants to be a tree. As they become larger this area will receive even more shade. The other tree you see in the back is Katsura, which just might someday knock down the morning sun as well, but I'm certainly not counting on that happening. However, it did survive last winter with no dieback. I have more homework to do before I make a decision on what to get, and I'll be looking for the hardiest Kalmia's I can get my soil-stained fingers on. Where's David311?

I took a "short cut" on my way to my mother in law's place in South Carolina (the map did not indicate that the road was a twisty mountain road with a top speed of 15 mph) but for mile after mile (...after mile) the roadside was filled with Mountain Laurels in bloom. I am sure they exist in the wild here in Virginia. The only one that I have ever seen in bloom was a huge one growing in the woods near a lake. I was probably planted by a bird. It was about 12' x 12' and loaded with gorgeous red and white flowers.

I am sure if I planted one in my yard it would up and die. I have already killed a few Azaleas and Rhododendrons. ;-(

- Brent

I'll try three more and after that, I'll throw in the towel. Anyone know anything about 'Comet', 'Shooting Star', 'Silver Dollar', or 'Snowdrift'?

Bob, I'm certainly no expert on these, but.... I believe they have shallow roots so don't cultivate around them. You may see that the lawn goes right up under mine. There are also a few naturalized Daffodils in there, too.
To be honest, I don't do anything for this plant except water it in times of drought.
Andy P

I talked for a while today with a nursery that exclusively grows Kalmia. The nursery was Dowling Road and their website is-
http://kalmiagrower.com/

I was looking to order 3 different cultivars and they won't be able to ship to me until next spring but preferably fall of '07.

I had an interesting conversation with her. She stated she believed the hardiest Kalmia to be 'Elf' and 'Olympic Fire' with 'Pristine' being one of the most unforgiving about being dry and 'Comet' was basically an overall poor choice although very attractive and if people were willing to fuss over it that 'Comet' might do well.

She indicated the straight species as well as 'Elf' were Swallowtail Butterfly magnets.

For me, she suggested that I plant Kalmia at no other time than in late fall when it is dormant. Yes, I did tell her that I was going to try 3 more and that if I failed that I was throwing in the towel on Kalmia. She mentioned that they truly don't like being disturbed. OK, all of the ones I killed in the past were planted in spring so this is definitely something for me to consider. She then suggested that I plant them all high in the equivalent of a mound and that 2' above grade had probably not been high enough for me in that the plant puts out roots at the soil line. OK, I can try that. Makes sense to me. She then mentioned that it would probably be best for me to consider a northern exposure this time. Our summers are brutal and she mentioned that their roots didn't like over heating and that these plants truly don't like full sun and that she frequently used shade cloth to keep them cooler. I had planted mine in a western exposure but she is recommending dapled shade and northern exposure. I can do that.

Other than that, she indicated that red Kalmias tended to need more sun to color up best.

She mentioned soil pH should be slightly acidic to acidic and that neutral wouldn't be best based on her experiences. I mentioned muching heavily with white pine needles to keep the roots cool and she got all excited and said the plants would really like that. I then asked what she thought about adding a Tblsp or two of vinegar to their water and she thought they'd like that too.

Kalmia aside, she suggested that all the Kalmia lovers look up a naturally occurring hybrid called Phylliopsis as she believed that plant would be great companion planted with Kalmia and that they were in bloom late spring until the snow started falling. I looked up the Phylliopsis and it is an extremely attractive plant. Their nursery doesn't offer the plant but it's out there some where I'm sure.

I'm not going to be ordering any Kalmia until I can order from her. She spent time with me and basically corrected me on all of my poor choices so I feel the need to wait until she has stock again. I feel relatively confident I literally killed all of my Kalmia by not sighting them property, or planting them at the right height, or at the right time of year. I'm going to try them again. I think I will go for 'Shooting Star', 'Snowdrift', and 'Silver Dollar' based on her input. She said those should be pretty hard for me to kill of I kept them watered well until they were established.

Equifibulater,

Thanks for the great link. I think I will buy from her too next year. Truly, there is no prettier flower on earth than Mountain Laurel.

A friend of mine has had decent luck growing them using a North American Rock Gardeners recipe for building beds. I'll have to check back with him, but basically it is a two foot pile of half-composted leaves, covered by 6" of sand, covered by 6" of soil, or some variation of that. He has grown every impossible thing in his beds made to these specs--Cypripediums, Kalmia, difficult rhodies and azaleas, leucothoe, and lots more.

Scott

When she first told me to plant high, this was a foreign concept to me but I figured I've killed every one I planted 2" above ground level so maybe there's something to this. Is Leftwood growing these? Is he the person you are referring to? I'd like to know more about the Cyps.

Equil, thanks for doing our homework for us. I would really still like to get 'Elf'. I went to the Dowling Road web site and that is clearly not what I have, although mine is very pretty. I will probably order 'Elf' from them for fall '07. I had no idea kalmia was so hard to grow. I have only had mine since spring '05. It's in a raised bed, about a foot, and pretty heavily mulched with cypress, keeping company with dwarf conifers and heather, all acid lovers. It's doing well so far, but maybe with this newfound advice, I will be able to keep it. Probably some protection from winter winds is in order...it's in an open area and we get some brutal wind. I'm fairly surprised now that it made it thru it's first winter.

http://tinytreasuresnursery.com/Plant%20Pages/phylliopsis_sugar_plum.htm

Tiny Treasures has the phylliopsis, very pretty and very similar to heather

This message was edited Jun 17, 2006 7:39 AM

I don't know that they are that difficult. I think what happened is that I did everything possibly imaginable wrong so needless to say I killed them all one by one. I even killed the ones I germinated from seed that were already acclimated to my zone.

I, too, was impressed with the Phylliopsis. Neat plant that I wasn't familiar with.

Kalmia lovers unite!

You guys need your own flag and national anthem. Maybe a love song/ballad or two....

EQ is headed down the road the right way: talk to a grower. I bet a call to Broken Arrow up in CT would pay some dividends, too. I think that's Dick Jaynes' place (who literally "wrote the book", actually two of them) and has grown a mountain laurel or thousand.

From Chapter 8 of Kalmia: The Laurel Book II:

If you all would use words like "antipathy" and "desideratum" while attempting to grow Kalmia, you might have better luck.

I'd recommend three things to those unreconstructed upper midwesterners determined to torture some unsuspecting Ericaceae:

•Buy Dick Jaynes' book, or both of them. I got mine for $9 (€7.13). You'll blow way more than that on shipping for each Kalmia you mail order.

•Make sure you at least have low pH water and low pH reaction mulch after you've gone to great lengths to adequately prepared your Kalmia's soil volume.

•Consider your soil flora/fauna, i.e. things like mycorrhizae. Kalmia, I believe, is one of those species that won't be happy without what it grew up with, as in all the little soil associations that make it so happy in the mountains of the Appalachian chain.

Go forth and multiply/prosper.

I forgot that. This is why she won't bareroot them to reduce shipping costs.

Wrong mountains though Dear. She's growing in the Cascades.

I think you've got the wrong mountains. Kalmia latifolia is an east coaster. It doesn't matter where the nursery is from.

Well, now that we've had our geography lesson for the day ;)