Pink Charm Mountain Laurel

If you are fortunate enough to have acidic soil, then the Pink Charm Mountain Laurel will be right at home in your garden. While everyone knows about azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias for acid soil, our native Kalmia or Mountain Laurel is often forgotten. (Pieris is another acid-lover that should be grown more.) Yet these are shrubs that shine in spring as much as any azalea, and this variety is especially gorgeous, with large, 8-inch clusters of glowing pink blossoms covering it completely as May turns into June. A rounded, evergreen shrub, with attractive leathery leaves, it grows steadily over time to mature between 6 and 8 feet tall. A great shrub that looks terrific in partial shade, with other acid-lovers. Better able to take hot, humid summers than most rhododendrons, yet cold-hardy too, these are great shrubs for any acid garden – and worth the extra effort of growing in a pot if you don’t have suitable soil.

• Abundant large heads of bright-pink flowers in late spring
• Bloom from late May into June, extending the season after the rhododendrons and azaleas
• Attractive leathery evergreen foliage
• Tolerant of heat and humidity in summer
• Should be grown in moist, acidic soils

Plant the Pink Charm Mountain Laurel in morning sun and afternoon shade, in light shade beneath deciduous trees, or north-facing shadow zones. It should be grown in acidic soils, ideally with a pH between 4.5 and 5.5, but certainly no more than 6.0. The soil should be rich in lime-free organic materials, and well-drained, but not dry. Water regularly when newly-planted, and don’t allow it to become too dry in summer. It isn’t eaten by deer and has no pest or disease problems. Grows well in pots with lime-free soil, which can be left outdoors all winter from zone 7. In colder zones bury the pot in the garden for the winter.