Sheep Laurel

Size

Sheep Laurel is a fine-leaved evergreen perfect for adding to a naturalized garden area, pollinator garden, or semi-shaded woodland area. Kalmia augustifolia is a native of the open woodlands and boggy sites of Eastern North America. Unlike its close cousin Bog Laurel, Sheep Laurel survives in a wide range of wet or dry sites. The clusters of tiny, pink, disc-shaped flowers cover the spreading shrubs through June into early July, attracting many native beneficial insects and pollinators. The foliage is food for the caterpillars of Brown Elfin Butterflies. Sheep Laurel will grow happily in USDA zones 5 through 8, making this a plant accessible to most gardeners in the United States. Although all parts of this plant are toxic to people and most livestock, deer will browse happily on the flower clusters and foliage. The pruning by deer rarely causes much harm to individual plants, and they quickly regrow. The low and wide-spreading growth habit makes Sheep Laurel a good choice for an evergreen ground cover in larger gardens or an edging plant in a woodland garden. Rock gardens and gently sloping hillsides are also great places to use this native workhorse in the landscape. Sheep Laurel Care Just about any soil texture is acceptable for growing Sheep Laurel. A neutral to acidic pH will support deep green foliage and good blooming for these evergreen shrubs. Water new shrubs deeply once or twice a week to help the roots to establish. Sheep Laurel is not a hungry plant and grows well with an annual mulching of 1-2 inches of compost. Sheep Laurel is allelopathic to evergreen conifers, meaning that pines and other conifer plants will not grow alongside it because of a toxin that the roots put into the soil. Deadheading will help to keep the spread of Sheep Laurel in check by limiting its seed production. Prune lightly for shape in late summer after flowering and at least 6 weeks before the first average frost date for your growing zone. Gardeners in the coldest growing areas may have better success pruning as the weather warms in early spring. Remove any winter-damaged branches to make the shrub less susceptible to pests and diseases. Sheep Laurel Spacing The spreading shape of Sheep Laurel stays 1-3 feet tall and 4-6 feet wide. Space plants 4-5 feet from each center when planting in a garden border.