MOUNTAIN LAUREL: A Favorite in Atlantic Highlands

Huzzah! The mountain laurel bushes (Kalmai latifolia) are back in bloom this spring in Atlantic Highlands. For several weeks, people have been witnessing in our forests a splendid display of blooming small trees with radiant, umbrella-like clusters of pink and white flowers in the foreground of lush, elliptical evergreen leaves. This is a special treat for all species to enjoy, as mountain laurel (a native plant) seems to only flower when meteorological conditions are just right, such as temperature and moisture. While no one can ever accurately predict when or if a mountain laurel plant will bloom within a particular year, most botanists agree that specific conditions, such as mild, dry winters with rainy springs and summers need to exist. Thus, thanks to one of the mildest and driest winters in the history of New Jersey, and a rather wet spring, we are experiencing a splendid show of color from our local mountain laurels.

While the species can be found throughout New Jersey, mountain laurel develops best in shady areas with clay or sandy acidic soils, which have helped to distinguish Atlantic Highlands and the Coastal Plain to many a local gardener. Mountain laurel is in the same family (Ericaceae) as azaleas, highbush blueberries, rhododendrons, sourwoods, sheep laurels, and mountain cranberry plants, which are species that grow best in forests with thin, sour soils.

Photo courtesy of http://www.state.ct.us/emblems/flower.htm

Yet, mountain laurel’s popularity extends far beyond New Jersey. Its range is ubiquitous to the Eastern United States from New Brunswick, Canada, to western Florida, and westward to central Tennessee, and along the Appalachian Mountain chain up to 4,000 feet. The notable botanist, Carolus Linnaeus, gave mountain laurel its genius scientific classification, Kalmia, after Peter Kalm, an eighteenth century traveler and writer, who was one of the first Europeans to identify the plant. In 1748, Kalm (a New Jersey resident at the time) wrote about mountain laurel, “The Swedes have named it the spoon tree, because the Indians used to make their spoons and trowels of its wood.” Some people in Massachusetts also might call mountain laurel the Calicotree, as its pretty, delicate flowers resemble tiny calico skirts. Other alternative names include wood laurel, the calicoflower, or ivywood.

In case you have never seen one of our mountain laurel bushes before, here is a brief description. The plant can grow to 30-feet in width and 10-feet in height. It has thin, long, dark-reddish brown bark that have narrow ridges and scales. The leaves are yellow-green and shiny on top. The leaves can grow in pairs or in threes, alternate or opposite, 3-4 inches long. The plant generally flowers from mid-May to early July. Mountain laurel wood is relatively strong and has been used by artisans to make tobacco pipes and furniture, such as end tables and small chairs. The plant is also long-lived and can be active for up to 100 years.

While the plant can live a long time, its flowers will disappear very soon. If you are interested in observing the flowers of mountain laurel for yourself, you had better hurry for the show is about to end within the next week or two. Perhaps the best place to see mountain laurel is within Lenape Woods Nature Preserve, eastern section. The entrance is located near the corner of East Highland Avenue and Ocean Blvd. The park is open from dawn to dusk. Lenape Woods has some beautiful trails lined with many a mountain laurel.

Among those residents in Atlantic Highlands who know, there is perhaps nothing more beautiful during late spring than a drive along Ocean Blvd. or East Highland Avenue to see our beloved mountain laurels in bloom. No other shrub in the Bayshore and Two River region is more angelic when it flowers than mountain laurel. It is show put on by Mother Nature worth waiting for every spring.