Kalmia latifolia seed
LATIN NAME: Kalmia latifolia
COMMON NAME: Mountain Laurel
The mountain laurel is the pink bowl of the woodland, and the intricate, cup-shaped flowers open in the tight clusters. The slow-growing, evergreen shrub carries the glossy, oval leaves and the tight, rounded clusters of the intricate, cup-shaped, pink, white or rose flowers with the darker markings through the late spring, one of the fine, delicate sights of the woodland garden. 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 the open, sunny to partly shaded, deep, moist, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The mountain laurel is a fine subject of the plant science, and the cup-shaped flowers keep showing up in the work on the heath family. The chemistry of the leaves, which carry the potent compounds of the heath family, has been studied closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the ericaceous shrubs, the acid-soil evergreens and the members of the heath family. The glossy, oval leaves and the slow, neat habit have also made it a fine garden shrub, and the mountain laurel is a regular subject of the work on the pink bowls of the cool world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The mountain laurel is a fine, bold shrub of the woodland garden. The tight, rounded clusters of the intricate, cup-shaped, pink, white or rose flowers open through the late spring, one of the fine, delicate sights of the cool garden, drawing the bees of the season. 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. The glossy, evergreen leaves hold the deep, green structure through the year, and it is one of the fine choices for the woodland garden, the acid border and the specimen shrub. It has been written up in the horticultural papers for the pink bowls and the delicate ways, and it is a fine, long-lived shrub of the open, sunny to partly shaded, deep, moist, well-drained garden.
Mulch the base with the leaf mould in the spring and keep the soil cool, and the shrub will settle in well.
To grow the mountain laurel from seed, sow the small, brown seeds across the surface of a pot of loose seed compost, with a light press, keep the pot in a cool, bright spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings come up in their own good time and grow on slowly. With the sun or the light shade and the deep, moist, well-drained ground, the pink bowls will open in the years ahead.
Growth Rate: Slow-Medium
Plant Type: Medium Shrub
Vegetation Type: Evergreen
Germination Range: 30-50%
Shelf Life: 1-2 years cold & dry
Sowing Density: 60-85 seedlings/ft2
Plant Use: Ornamental
Leaf Color: Green
Flower Color: Pink
Scarification: Add moisture.
Stratification: cold stratify for 60 days. Stratify by surface sowing seeds on moist, tamped, soil in trays and place trays in cold for 60 days. Keep moist.
Germination: requires light for germination. Place trays with stratified seed in light, keep moist. Can be germinated on living moss.