Mountain Laurel Brings Pretty Flowers and Evergreen Leaves to the Shade Garden
A shade-loving evergreen shrub, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) provides an amazing show of late-spring flowers that feed pollinators.
Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is a broadleaf evergreen shrub with beautiful late-spring to early-summer flowers that attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Native to eastern North America, it is a woodland dweller, making it a good choice for shade gardens. It's also resistant to deer. Many named cultivars exist, expanding the flower color well beyond the white or pale pink of the straight species.
Common name: Mountain laurel
Botanical name: Kalmia latifolia
Origin: This species is native across roughly the eastern half of North America, where it dwells in woods and meadows.
Flowers: In late spring to early summer, small, cup-shaped flowers appear in rounded clusters that cover the entire shrub. Depending on the cultivar, the flower color ranges from white through all shades of pink. The interior of the flowers have dots and other markings to varying degrees, with some cultivars marked enough to be considered bicolor in bloom. The flowering season for mountain laurel can last several weeks.
Foliage: Evergreen, long and narrow, with a leathery texture and glossy sheen.
Size and habit: A rounded shrub five to fifteen feet tall and wide.
Growing mountain laurel
Exposure: Part shade, dappled light
How to grow it: Plant Kalmia latifolia where it will receive more shade than sun during the day. A position of part shade or all-day dappled light will promote good growth and flowering. Avoid hot afternoon sun. This woodland shrub prefers rich, loose, acidic soil with consistent moisture. Mulch annually with deciduous leaves, compost and/or shredded bark to help build fertile soil, improve drainage and conserve moisture. USDA Zones 4–9.
