Mountain Laurel can withstand full sun in many climates. In your particular case, however, I think the heat will be a serious problem. You're in a warm climate zone, the kalmia will receive direct sun all day long plus the reflected heat from the wall behind it. In the height of summer if not before, I do think this will be just too much for this species. You'll very likely have problems from winter sun as well. It's also not a great choice for providing screening, either. It's naturally quite a slow grower and the small leaves do not provide much in the way of the kind of cover you're looking for. It would be fine to move it now. Many shrubs can be kept to the size you want by pruning. I'd ask the nursery for their recommendations.

It will not root in water. You can try making fresh wounds and dipping root hormone powder, but I think that branch is too big for that even.

hi, i just wanted to add a little info here. the laurels grow very long tap roots and do not like to be transplanted more than about 2-3 feet from where you pulled them up from the ground. i would recommend starting them in a tall container before planting them in the ground. be VERY gentle with the root system, it is VERY sensitive and any damage during moving can cause stunted and delayed growth/blooms. also fertilizing for faster growth is unneccessary, faster growth can actually delay blooms by up to 3-5 yrs. some of these trees have been known not to bloom until they are more than 10 yrs old. they are slow growers and will often go thru periods of dormancy. im not sure what triggers the sleep or wakes them up. my guess is temp and water. remember, texas is green in the hill country but it is still a dry rocky sandy desert on top of old limestone. too much water or not enough heat can cause little growth and death. your best bet is to plant the seed directly where you want it or in a container that will allow for a 6-10 inch long taproot. alot of root will develop before the plants start to grow above the soil. if you planted the seed in the yard expect the root to grow as long as 2ft before the plant itself is 6-12 inches. breaking off any part of the root system can be detrimental during the first couple years of growth. if you are having trouble starting the seeds, drill a tiny hole in the top just into the flesh or score it thru the shell wih a file . the shell is super tough and may take some creativity to break into. ive heard of rubbing them raw with sandpaper if they cant be easily scored. afterwards soak them in warm ( simulate texas rain)water for 24-48 hrs. seeds that swell to about 3x size will grow quickly, others will take longer. you can place them with the hole/score side pointed up on top of potting soil, then layer about 1/2 inch of sand on top. this will mimick the dry caliche dirt in texas. i would recommend a bottom layer of whatever soil the tree will be planted in after it is removed from the pot to aclimate the sensitive roots system. these trees do not require watering most of the time. excessive water will kill them off. i would not recommend any pruning as it will inhibit blooms, most of the time the tree naturally grows into a rounded or umbrella shape. if you do decide to prune, leave the flowers and "snakes" ( i call them that too:). leave the seed pods on the tree until they fall off or most of the green has toned down toward greyish brown. the seeds need time to mature. you can take them out of the pods and grow them just as they begin to turn from light green to pink and this may help speed up the germination process because the shell is still soft and thin. it is not unheard of for a seed to wait 2-3 years to finally sprout. this is a SLOW growing tree that can be trained into a bush or tree art( like benches etc) it can be trimmed to have a single central trunk or multiple trunks. ive even seen one trained to be a trellis. i think they look best with 5-6 trunks, it helps spread the canopy and gives more flowers. they enjoy hot days and full sun the most. as for the bugs that eat them, try to find out what sort of birds eat the bugs and try to attract them to your yard with seed or homes. otherwise i would look for a biodegradable spray like lemon juice or vinegar or orange oil. make sure these dont hurt the tree before you go all out on them. if i remember correctly the best time to spray for pests is during july-august while its the hottest. this tree is a lovely plant and once established(3-5yrs)it takes nothing but time and patience to grow. make sure you keep the seeds away from small children, they look just like candy. in most cases the seed shell is so thick and smooth that it passes thru the body without harm. however if triggered it can generate a potent toxin that i believe is semi narcotic. this plant has a bonus to being poisonous however, deer wont touch it! i doubt that livestock would be much interested in it either. this plant is supposed to be very disease resistant but has been known to catch things (like cotton rot). if you live in a colder climate it may be more inclined to sickness and pests that are resilant to its toxins. also colder wetter areas may be hard on the roots. if you do plant north of texas give it a little hill so excess water can drain away from the tree.add a layer of dark, heat absorbing material to the base of the tree, i have seen trees in cold climates with shredded tires mixed with cedar for mulch and it did an awesome job of keeping heat and excess moisture. i wouldnt worry about wrapping it up in the cold unless you get one of the sudden death defying freezes mid spring. i lived in the texas hill country for 15 yrs and it never really got cold enough to do major damage. however areas prone to ice stoms might be a problem. you could try saving a budding spring tree during a sudden freeze by using the fruit growers trick. turn on a sprinkler before the ice comes in and let it wet the tree until the ice is done. this may help keep ice crystals from shredding the cell walls. however it could send it back to sleep for a couple years as well. here again drainage is super important. try placing some pastic sheeting around the base of the tree to divert the water away from the main roots. this might also help insulate the roots. i havent tried it yet as our new trees here in oklahoma havent been started. ill update yall next spring if they survive the winter. i hope this info helps! wendy

Yesterday, I had my arborist come by to review some items on my property. My house is quite old, 90 now and many of the plantings have been there for nearly as long I imagine. Keeping them healthy is a concern. There are 2 Mountain Laurels on one side of the home which have seen better days but, continue to bloom profusely each spring. They do need some trimming back - dead heavy branches certainly aren't good to keep on them so starting this year we're going to begin a rejuvenation process. While looking it over yesterday, the arborist (who I know for many years, used him at a different house previously) noticed there was odd damage on nearly every branch low and high. The pattern of damage is circular around the branch, very even, with missing bark and small holes. He had never seen such repetitive strange markings before and immediately we both thought of some kind of animal but weren't sure exactly what. After he left, I found info and photos on Google which clearly were similar and caused by Woodpeckers and Sapsuckers primarily. I sent him a message and he had just heard back from his specialist saying the same thing. So, now we know what did it, but do not know how to remedy it. The specialist thought the damage was not too severe yet - it seemed recent to this past winter which was particularly bad in New Jersey. Probably, they were searching for any kind of food possible. Does anyone know how to keep birds away from specific plantings? I never thought I'd have to keep them away - it's saddens me since I love having birds visit, as does our indoor cats; they give them endless hours of entertainment from afar. Nothing I've seen looks very useful and I'd like to know if anyone has actually used anything which works. Thanks! Laurie