Re: Kalmia

Ah, mountain laurels. I drive on the highways in Ct and upstate New York
(well, around Albany) in June and see them growing and blooming their heads
off in rocks at the edges of woods. But I have killed many laurels,
including a beauty I picked out at Richard Jayne's nursery. The only one
that has survived is one I bought from a local nursery after ignoring the
information that it came originally from North Carolina. It really
struggles, though, after seven years (and a successful battle against black
vine weevil), it seems to have decided to live. Many people in my area
report planting mountain laurels in their yards next to ones growing
naturally--and the new plants died. Soil acidity is not a problem around
here, though drainage could be. I've always wondered if there is some
crucial mycorrhizal (fungal) relationship missing in these new plantings.
Nancy S. (NYC, zone 6, though more like 4 right now)

>In a message dated 12/20/00 12:24:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, Shishi@AOL.COM
>writes:
>
><< they "pop' back on old wood real well, so they can be cut back, AND
>COLLECTED
> AS "STUMPS" IF NEED BE >>
>
>Harry,
>
>I think you would have luck with this in your longer growing season and we
>would not be able to see such regrowth.  How I would like to live in frost
>free region for just a little while.
>
>There may be some northern and southern variation.  Also there might be, as
>dogwoods, a difference in nothern grown seed and southern grown seed.  There
>is a botanical explanation for this, something about cells withstanding more
>cold.  It is a bit complicated.
>
>We are at the very edge of  the normal range for kalmia, mine are
>transplanted here.  They are certainly hardy but not as glorious as the
>plants in PA or CT.  Every other year we have an explosion of deep pink that
>lasts for weeks.  Sometimes people stop and ask "what is that shrub". So,
>there may be some need to have a northern grown plant in a marginal area.
>Since most of the named forms are grown from tissue culture, this might be
>why they fail.
>
>Rich Horowitz is correct with his reference to Jaynes book on Kalmia, the
>only one I think.  I don't have that book but it is around in the stores.
>Dr. Jaynes is the originator of most of the newest forms.  He is with the U.
>of CT.
>
>Claire Peplowski
>NYS z4
>
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index