Scientific Name
Kalmia buxifolia (Bergius) Gift & Kron
Common Name(s)
Sand Myrtle
Synonym(s)
Ledum buxifolium
Scientific Classification
Family: Ericaceae
Subfamily: Ericoideae
Tribe: Phyllodoceae
Genus: Kalmia
Flower
Color: White or light pink
Bloom Time: Summer
Description
Kalmia buxifolia is an attractive shrub that grows up to 3.3 feet (1 m) tall. Leaves can be alternately or oppositely arranged on the stems. They are oval to lance-shaped and up to 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) long. The inflorescence is a raceme or umbel of up to 18 flowers with white or light pink petals. The fruits are small capsules.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zone 6a to 8b: from −10 °F (−23.3 °C) to 20 °F (−6.7 °C).
How to Grow and Care
Mountain Laurel is hardy to zone 5. However, in winter, it will need to be protected with burlap barriers to block the winter wind in colder areas.
Purchase plants from your local garden center. Look for the hardiest varieties for cold areas. Plant shrubs from spring, after all danger of frost has passed, to summer in well-drained, moist, acidic, cool soils. Avoid windy areas, if possible. Space plants 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 m) apart.
Keep young shrubs well watered. Keep the soil evenly moist and acidic with a layer of wood chips or evergreen bark mulch. Fertilize mountain laurel in spring with plant food for acidic-loving plants such as you'd use for Rhododendrons.
Mountain Laurel will get spindly, develop leaf spots, and have few flowers if grown in too much shade. Look for leaf spot resistant varieties if growing under these conditions. It also doesn't grow well in poorly drained soils. It's a slow grower that should only be pruned to shape the plant in spring after flowering. Dead, diseased, and broken branches can be taken out at any time. Mountain laurel doesn't have many pest problems.
See more at How to Grow and Care for Mountain Laurel.
Origin
This species is native to the eastern United States.
Links
- Back to genus Kalmia
- Plantpedia: Browse flowering plants by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, or Origin
Photo Gallery
Click on a photo to see a larger version.
