Northern Sheepkill Kalmia angustifolia

Sheep laurel is an evergreen flowering shrub in the Ericaceae (heath) familythat is native to North America from Canada south to VA in a variety of locations including moist bogs or swamps, disturbed sites, roadsides, and dry pine forests. In the wild it is found on sites that are typically dry in the summer and damp or even flooded in the spring.  The genus name Kalmia is after Peter Kalm an 18th century botanist.  

It grows up to 3 feet tall and 6 feet wide with a tap root and a dense mat of interwoven rhizomes which allow it to form colonies. In cultivation, it prefers full sun in moist acidic soils. While it will survive it languishes in the shade.  Avoid planting in windy sites. The plant can be pruned, but keep in mind that next year's blossoms will appear on old growth.

Showy saucer shaped bright pink flowers form in summer in clusters below the leaves.  The plant is a larval host to butterflies and moths as well as provides forage and nesting sites for birds.  

Use in naturalized areas, foundation plantings, or woodland settings. It works as an understory shrub and grows well in wet or boggy conditions in a landscape.  It may be adaptable to southern states in mountainous areas. The var. carolina is native to coastal and mountains of NC.

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:  In fields, it can be problematic for grazing animals due to toxicity.  High pH soils will cause chlorosis.  It can outcompete other plants and become weedy in some disturbed.  It is allelopathic to conifer seedlings.