Kalmia latifolia

Here's what our Kalmia latifolia in flower looks like, in front of our house in Clemson.  It's a lovely clear white -- my gardening companion said it was a Kalmia propagated through a Woodlanders (nursery) selection, from Aiken, South Carolina, so definitely a southern genotype.

Kalmia latifolia in flower
We've got another Kalmia nearby that's showing only buds (undoubtedly from a more northern location).

Kalmia buds

Comments

  1. I don't have any mountain laurel in my landscape, but I have helped my daughter plant two at the edge of the little 'woodland' she has in front of her house. Hers have some pink.

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  2. Are these frost hardy Lisa?
    And how long do they flower for?
    Rob

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  3. Mountain laurel is such a great native shrub, with a wide geographic distribution.

    Rob, mountain laurels are definitely frost hardy and the flowers last for several weeks. I'm surprised that you haven't seen it -- I would have thought it would have ended up in British gardens along with Rhododendrons, as they flourish in the same general habitats. Kalmia latifolia is a woody, long-lived shrub in our mountains and Piedmont, even if finicky about being in exactly the right site!

    Janet and Pat, aren't the pinker flowers pretty, too? I like the clear white, since they're more common in nature. But the pink ones are nice -- the only ones I don't like are the deep pink (a bit out of the ordinary!)

    Lisa

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