Hi Gianbob, Welcome to The Plant Exchange. You have no email link on your member page, thus no one can reach you. See here.....addressing newbie and newer member issues for getting it set up as well as a location in your member Profile. Happy gardening and trading! Sue

Congratulation! You have a lot of courage to plant it in your z4 and you won! Take it from Connecticut's kalmias lover, where they grow like a weeds. Here are few pictures of another kalmias you might want to consider in a future, Carousel Keepsake Despite the popular belief that kalmias are shade lovers (they are shade tolerant, that's it) kalmias if planted in a too shady location will not bloom as good as those that are planted in part to full sun. The main trick is to give them protection from the WINTER sun to avoid dissecation of the leaves. In their young years they need to be protected (as you did) from the cold AND from the sun, but later on, winter sun will be your worse enemy. Use wilt-pruff and/or burlap wrap/screen. Water well before ground will be frozen, but do not overwater in a summer (especially if planted in a shade), cause Phytophora ramorum fungus while being harmless to overall plant's health could seriously ruin aesthetic appearance of the leaves. Good luck! Now I'm convinced that I could grow camellias!

It must be a mountain laurel, then, because years ago I dug way down trying to pull it out and never did find the end of the tap root! There are 3 of these in a row, and the one I tried to dig up is too close to the garage. I finally went out and smelled the leaves of the other mystery plant. I didn't smell anything in particular, just a typical leaf-y smell that sort of reminded me of a pepper plant. I noticed the leaves had a fuzzy texture. Do you think it'll survive if I dig it out and move it toward the back of the bed? It's already too tall where it is, and if it's a eupatorium it sounds like it may get even taller!

I have laurels that must be 30 or 40 years old. They're very healthy, but I find that they bloom heavily only every other year. In the off year, I get just a few blooms (that's going to happen this year). They produce lots of new foliage every year, however. Probably also has to do with the weather conditions the year before, as it does with most woody plants.