Kalmia polifolia
| Kalmia polifolia | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 2 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-6.5 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Kalmia polifolia (common name: swamp laurel)
Propagation: Seed - surface sow in late winter in a cool greenhouse in light shade[1][2]. Prick out the young seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle. The seedlings are rather sensitive to damping off, so water them with care, keep them well-ventilated and perhaps apply a fungicide such as garlic as a preventative. Grow the young plants on in light shade and overwinter them in the greenhouse for their first winter[1]. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer. The seed is dust-like and remains viable for many years[2].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, August in a frame. Very poor results unless the cuttings are taken from very young plants[3][1].
Layering in August/September. Takes 18 months[1]. The plants can also be dug up and replanted about 30cm deeper in the soil to cover up some of the branches. The plant can then be dug up about 12 months later when the branches will have formed roots and can be separated to make new plants[4].
Cultivation: Requires an acid humus-rich soil, succeeding in part shade[5] or in full sun in cooler areas. Prefers almost full sun[3]. Dislikes dry soils[5], requiring cool, permanently moist conditions at the roots[6]. Succeeds in open woodland or along the woodland edge[4].
A very cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -30°c[7].
A very ornamental plant[3], there are some named varieties[4].
Pruning is not normally necessary[4].
Range: Northern N. America - Newfoundland to Hudson Bay, southwards. Nat. in Britain in a bog in Surrey.
Habitat: Cold peat bogs and other wet places[3][4].
Medicinal: Swamp laurel is a very poisonous narcotic plant the leaves of which were at one time used by some native North American Indian tribes in order to commit suicide[8]. It is little, it at all, used in modern herbalism though the leaves are a good external treatment for many skin diseases and inflammation[8].
The leaves are astringent and sedative[8][6][9]. They are used externally to make a poultice or a wash in the treatment of many skin diseases, open sores, wounds that will not heal and inflammation[8][10].
Used internally, the leaves have a splendid effect in the treatment of active haemorrhages, diarrhoea and flux[8][6][9]. They should be used with great caution however, and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner. See the notes above on toxicity.
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The foliage is poisonous to animals[6][11][12]. The whole plant is highly toxic[13].
Also Known As: K. glauca.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.
- ↑ Cooper, Marion. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. The Stationery Office, 1984.
- ↑ Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.