Kalmia latifolia Seeds | Mountain Laurel
LATIN NAME: Kalmia latifolia
COMMON NAME: Mountain Laurel
Plant Profile
Kalmia latifolia, commonly known as Mountain Laurel, is a slow-growing, evergreen shrub in the heath family. Mountain laurel is pink bowl of woodland, and intricate, cup-shaped flowers open in tight clusters. The whole plant is for the eyes only, not for eating or touching without the gloves, and the shrub is a fine, bold presence of the cool garden. It is a shrub of open, sunny to partly shaded, deep, moist, well-drained ground. When it flowers, local bees and other insects make good use of it. It is hard to name another plant that gives this much for this little trouble.
Science & Biotechnology
As part of the heath family, Kalmia latifolia contributes to research on plant classification and adaptation, while nurseries and gardeners continue to trial it for cultivation. For practical purposes the message is encouraging: generations of cultivation have produced plants of predictable, well-mannered garden character.
Uses & Benefits
Beyond its ornamental appeal, Mountain Laurel has the practical versatility that makes a plant worth growing from seed year after year. Mountain laurel is a fine, bold shrub of woodland garden. The whole plant is for the eyes only, not for eating or touching without the gloves, so the shrub is grown for the pink bowls rather than for the table. It has been written up in horticultural papers for pink bowls and delicate ways, and it is a fine, long-lived shrub of open, sunny to partly shaded, deep, moist, well-drained garden. Once it has settled, the workload drops to almost nothing.
Mountain laurel is a glorious flowering shrub and thoroughly toxic, including its honey; it is for the woodland garden only.
Growing from Seed
Mountain Laurel is one of those generous plants that come along well from seed. Level a tray of loose seed compost, sow evenly, cover to about the seed’s own depth, and keep it moist in full light. A cool, moist period before sowing helps the seeds wake evenly — a few weeks in damp medium in the refrigerator is the usual approach. Transplant the sturdiest seedlings to their permanent spots and let them develop without disturbance.
Our Take
Mountain Laurel repays a little patience at sowing time with plenty of garden presence later.
Related Reading
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