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Kalmia (after Peter Kalm, Swedish botanist, traveled from 1748 to 1751 in North America). Ericaceae. American Laurel. Ornamental shrubs grown for their handsome flowers and foliage.
Evergreen, rarely deciduous: lvs. alternate or opposite, short-petioled, entire: fls. in terminal or lateral corymbs or umbels, rarely solitary; calyx 5-parted; corolla saucer-shaped or broadly campanulate, 5-lobed: stamens 10, with slender filaments, the anthers held back in little pouches of the corolla, springing up suddenly and discharging the pollen if touched; ovary 5-celled, superior: caps, globular, parting into 5 valves, with numerous minute seeds.—Seven species in E. N. Amer. and Cuba. The lvs. of the kalmias are said to be poisonous to animals, especially those of K. angustifolia. The fl. of Kalmia is one of those proposed as a national floral emblem, especially on account of the exquisite symmetrical beauty of the single blossom. Kalmia is a purely American genus, but unfortunately it is popularly known only in the eastern states.
The kalmias are medium-sized or low shrubs, very rarely small trees with purple, pink or nearly white, cup-shaped flowers in showy terminal corymbs or in axillary umbels, rarely solitary, followed by small capsular fruits. Kalmia angustifolia and K. polifolia are hardy North, and also the most ornamental member of the genus, K. latifolia, which next to rhododendron is the most beautiful flowering hardy evergreen. Massed in groups or as single specimen on the lawn, it is one of the most decorative plants when covered with its abundant pink flowers. Even small plants produce flowers. The foliage is very decorative, contrasting well with the red and yellowish branches. The species is easily forced and makes a very handsome pot-plant. The other species are pretty border plants for evergreen shrubberies.
The kalmias thrive well in a sandy, peaty or loamy soil, but dislike clay and limestone. They grow almost as well in swamps as in drier locations and prefer partly shaded situations, but thrive well also in sunny places, provided there be sufficient moisture. They require generally almost the same treatment as the hardy rhododendron, but are less particular about soil and position. Transplanting, if carefully done either early in fall or in spring, is not difficult; a mulching the first season after planting will be of much advantage to keep the roots from drying in summer and from frost in winter. Propagation is usually by seeds sown in sandy, peaty soil in pans or boxes in early spring and kept in a coldframe or greenhouse. The seedlings should be pricked off as soon as they can be handled, and after they are again established gradually hardened off and the following year transplanted in frames or beds outdoors. Varieties of K. latifolia are usually increased by side-grafting on seedlings in the greenhouse or by layers, since it grows less readily from cuttings, while the other species may be propagated by cuttings of half-ripened wood under glass.
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