'Minuet' is a dwarf shrub that typically matures to only 3' tall and as wide. Genus name honors Pehr Kalm (1715-1779), Finnish pupil of Linnaeus, who was sent by the Swedish government in 1748 to report on the natural resources of North America. Linnaeus named the genus herein after Swedish botanist Peter Kalm (1716-1779) who explored plant life in parts of eastern North America from 1747 to 1751. Mountain laurel has acquired a number of different common names over time including ivy bush, spoonwood, calico bush and American laurel. Kalmia latifolia is the state flower of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. All parts of this plant are toxic if ingested. Elliptic, alternate, leathery, glossy evergreen leaves (to 5” long) are dark green above and yellow green beneath and reminiscent to the leaves of rhododendrons. If not deadheaded, flowers give way to non-showy brown fruits (3/16” dehiscent capsules) that persist into winter. Each flower (to 1” across) is cup shaped with five sides and ranges in color from rose to white with purple markings inside. Flowers appear in terminal clusters (corymbs to 6” across), typically covering the shrub in late May-June for several weeks with an often exceptional bloom. Notwithstanding its usual shrub habit, mountain laurel will rarely grow as a small tree (particularly on slopes in the Appalachian Mountains) to as much as 30’ tall. It typically grows as a dense rounded shrub to 5-15’ tall, opening up and developing gnarly branches with age. It is noted for its excellent spring flowers and quality year round foliage.
Kalmia latifolia, commonly called mountain laurel, is a gnarled, multi-stemmed, broadleaf evergreen shrub or small tree that is native to Eastern North America (New England south to the southern Indiana, Louisiana and the Florida panhandle) where it is found in a variety of habitats including open rocky or sandy woods, cool meadows, balds, mountain slopes and woodland margins.
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