Tinkerbelle Mountain Laurel

They look gorgeous from both persectives, Rk! :)

They are beautiful :))))

Thank you, they are definitely nice additions to the garden! It's great having the long period of blooms after rhododendrons and they last quite a bit longer. I really like how the Minuet mountain laurels are looking this year!

I have to investigate these, Rk...I think I'd like them!

I don't think I've ever seen them here...but they could be called something else... :)

:)))

They might have a few common names, the only other common name I know for it is Calico bush. The botanical name is Kalmia latifolia and they aren't very common in a lot of areas for some reason.

I've looked it up, Rk...
My book says sun/partial shade and I'm running out of partial shade...lol
How do they cope with sun?

Depends on how harsh winters are there. If it is very cold, dry and exposed to wind the leaves could get scorched but if you have wind protection and water well before the ground freezes then it should be fine. They can grow in full shade too, you won't get as many flowers but the flowers you get will last longer. If you have a lot of minerals in your water, you might want to use rain water or distilled water though. They are more fussy about soil pH than rhododendrons.

Thanks Rk! If it can go in a large pot, I'm going to ask Monsieur Bluteau about getting one of these!

You have connections? That always helps haha. It took me 2 years to find one and I found several others that year too. They are US natives and difficult to find outside of the East Coast. If you use a pot, use stone because they won't like the heat on plastic. The best way is to make a large hole in sandstone and use half sand and half peat moss. A nursery guy I knew told me of it and I thought he was bat shit crazy haha. It worked great though, always worth trying.

The sandstone will be a bit difficult...and the peat...but, we have "terre dit bruyere" for azaleas and rhodies and the like...
And Monsieur B can normally get me anything - as long as it is in his plantfinder book! They grow almost everything in Holland, which is next door.

What is terre dit bruyere? I took french in high school but don't recall much, I usually end up speaking phrases half in spanish and half in french haha. The sandstone definitely isn't a must, you could use hyper-tufa or tufa or even no rock at all. Even half compost and half sand or pine bark would work well.
Monsieur B sounds like a connection I'd like to have. There are a number of plants available in Europe that are not available in the US. Overall I think it is because Europeans have better taste than Americans haha.

I don't know what it's called in English, Rk...but it translates literally as "earth called moor/heath land". I sometimes dig a bit in around the hydrangeas...as well as putting it in the azalea pots.

My goodness! It sounds like there might be a market niche, there...or are there rules restricting the importation of non-native plants?

No rules that I am aware of. I've been wanting Daphne x burkwoodii 'Golden Treasure' for years and I see it listed in European nurseries but it's not available anywhere in the US. I looked into getting it shipped here from a nursery and it would cost $100 just for shipping.

That seems a bit excessive! Can you not find out if someone in GoY is growing it. If so, they could send you some seeds, maybe?

The only way to get that Daphne is from cuttings and there's really not a good way to keep a cutting alive long enough to ship it. I am just going to cross my fingers that someone will eventually bring it to the US and propagate it.

Just had a quick google and it does seem to be quite rare...one or two nurseries in the UK have it...

...maybe it would be worth contacting them...a 1litre pot costs £12.00 - how much can the postage be??

Anyway, I hope you find it somehow...

A one liter pot would be about $18 here then, that isn't a bad price. Last I knew it would cost about $100 for shipping which considering the distance doesn't seem all that outrageous. The nursery I usually get daphnes from will probably track it down before long though.