Mountain Laurel

Mountain Laurel (Kalmia) - The Kalmias are among the most beautiful of N. American shrubs, evergreen in foliage and charming in flower. Like the Rhododendron and Azalea, Kalmias must be grown in a moist, peaty soil, or one light or sandy. They will not thrive in stiff or chalky soils. Their lovely clusters of pink wax-like flowers open about the end of June, when the bloom of the Rhododendron and Azalea is on the wane, and last for a fortnight or longer. There are varieties of the common kind having, in some cases, larger flowers, and in others flowers of a deeper color, the finest being maxima, which is much superior in size of flower and richness of tint. The Myrtle-leaved Kalmia (K. myrtifolia) seems to be only a variety of K. latifolia, with smaller Myrtle-like foliage. The growth is dwarf and compact, and the flowers are almost as large as those of K. latifolia. The other species of Kalmia, though very beautiful, are of less value, because they are smaller, more delicate, and less showy, but in peat-soil gardens they should be grown. K. angustifolia grows about 1 1/2 feet high, and bears in early June dense clusters of rosy-pink flowers. K. glauca and K. hirsuta are also pretty shrubs, K. glauca flowering in early summer, and K. hirsuta in August.

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• Category:Shrubs
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