Mountain laurel

Wild Kalmia latifolia flowering in May on the banks of the Eno River

Mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, is a beautiful native shrub in the Ericaceae, the heather/rhododendron family. As suggested by its common name, it is most at home in the Appalachian mountains and their foothills, and its range extends from Maine to northern Florida. In North Carolina, it is common in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but it also grows at scattered localities in the piedmont and coastal plain. The specimen in these pictures is growing beside the Eno River in Orange County. All of the plants that I have seen in this part of the piedmont have white flowers and grow on rocky outcrops near the river or on Occoneechee Mountain, the highest point in the county.

I have been wanting to add mountain laurel to my garden for several years, but I have been hesitant, knowing the wide natural range of the species and its preference for cooler temperatures. Many of the colorful cultivars that are available commercially were selected at the University of Connecticut, and a plant originating in New England or upstate New York may not thrive during our hot summers. Recently, I was pleased to discover a local nursery offering rooted cuttings which came from material collected in Cumberland County, approximately 100 miles SSE of my home. I’m hoping this plant from the coastal plain will be similar to our local piedmont ecotype and exhibit considerable heat tolerance. The cutting I purchased is small with a very young root system, and I plan to keep it in a pot for a year or two before planting out in the garden. So, for the immediate future, I will just enjoy the local wild plants every spring.