Kalmia Flower

Kalmia at the Arboretum

Kalmia is in the exclusive club of plants that begin with the letter K.  In the Sunset Western Garden Book (1995) there are only eleven!  From Kalanchoe, Kniphofia and Kale, K just isn’t popular among plant names.  But Kalmia adds a lot to this exclusive group.  Mountain Laurel, another name for Kalmia, is an evergreen shrub that can grow in the shade and blooms after it’s relative the rhododendron, usually in June (July this year!).  The flowers are in clusters and come in red, white or pink.  Ir grows dense and rounded in the full sun and more open in the shade.  A beautiful flowering shrub.