Mountain laurel
Kalmia latifolia · Ericaceae Popular
A native evergreen with crimped, sugar-icing buds that open into cup-shaped flowers of white, pink or red in late spring, in clusters that cover the plant.
- Size
- 8 ft tall, 8 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around mountain laurel
The planner designed this bed around mountain laurel when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why mountain laurel stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Mountain laurel × 1, pink
- 2 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 35, yellow
- 3 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 11, pink
- 4 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 5 Brown-eyed Susan × 5, yellow
- 6 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
- 7 Virginia bluebells × 11, blue
- 8 Stemless gentian × 59, blue
- 9 Golden Japanese euonymus × 1, variegated leaves
- 10 Sicilian honey garlic × 6, cream
- 11 Oriental lily 'Stargazer' × 4, pink
- 12 Camassia × 6, white
Why this plant
- The only dense clusters. The others are daisies, open bowls, plumes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do palm sedge and golden Japanese euonymus.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 8 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to brown-eyed Susan (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late May to late June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana', bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei', stemless gentian and others in late May: 6 kinds at once. No week has more.
- One of three evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 14 of the 17 groups (82%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. There is more stemless gentian than anything else, 59 plants in all. The most in flower at one time is 6 kinds, in late May.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where mountain laurel goes in a border
At 8 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
As beautiful in bud as in flower. It needs the same acid, leafy, well-drained soil as rhododendrons and flowers best with some sun. It is slow, and resents wet feet.
- A native evergreen for acid woodland
- With rhododendrons and azaleas
- Spring flowers in part shade
What to plant with mountain laurel
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Rhododendron 'PJM': flowers first, late April to mid May, so the spot is never empty; low enough (5 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Christmas fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it.
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; spires rising out of its mound.
Questions about mountain laurel
Does mountain laurel need sun or shade?
Mountain laurel grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does mountain laurel grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does mountain laurel flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early June to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to mid June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to mid June |
| Zone 9 | Early May to early June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should mountain laurel be planted?
6½ ft (200 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 8 ft (250 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 ft (250 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many mountain laurel plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6½ ft (200 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6½ ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is mountain laurel poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: severe toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts, including the nectar, are highly poisonous if eaten and can affect the heart.
Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like mountain laurel?
These come closest to doing what mountain laurel does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Arrowwood viburnum: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not pink, not evergreen.
- Red osier dogwood: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not pink, not evergreen.
- Common ninebark: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not pink, not evergreen.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat mountain laurel?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after mountain laurel?
Mountain laurel is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Oakleaf hydrangea: from mid June to early August, 6½ ft tall.
- Feather reed grass 'Karl Foerster': from late June to early October, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Garden phlox: from mid July to early September, 3½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does mountain laurel look like in winter?
Mountain laurel keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is mountain laurel good for bees and butterflies?
Mountain laurel is visited by pollinators, butterflies and hummingbirds.
It is native to the United States.
More Kalmia
- Mountain laurel 'Elf' Kalmia latifolia 'Elf'
- Mountain laurel 'Olympic Fire' Kalmia latifolia 'Olympic Fire'
In these guides
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Native plants for shade
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- Plants for a white garden
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 8 ft (250 cm) tall, 8 ft (250 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6½ ft (200 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; dense clusters; pink, white, red
- Leaves
- Medium texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern U.S.A
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer
Checked against NC State Extension and ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.