Many people know Mountain Laurel as a stunning native shrub which is a spectacular sight in our mountains in May and June, but many don’t realize that it also grows in rocky floodplains of our rivers in the piedmont. Since we collect our seed from natural stands on the Haw River, our plants are adapted to lower elevations, and we consciously call our plants Piedmont Mountain Laurel. The shrub is common in the Appalachian Mountains, plateaus, piedmont, and coastal plains from southeast Maine to the Florida panhandle, west to Louisiana, and north through southern Indiana to southern Quebec. The shrub is slow-growing, 8-12′ high (much taller and a tree form in certain environments), with contorted, attractively exfoliating bark, handsome evergreen foliage and amazing flowers which vary from white through various shades of rose with contrasting markings — jewels in the spring sunshine. Sunshine enhances flowering, but partial sun is best, as well as moist, well drained, acidic soil conditions, with emphasis on both acidic and well drained adjectives. This is a magnificent, fascinating, but slow growing plant, so think Beauty for the Future!
