This is PA's state flower. We have some larger nurseries who sell mature b&b shrubs (I think Styer's is one that may have mature b&b kalmias). There is an old one next to my mother's neighbor's house growing against their sunporch, which has been growing in pretty deep shade for decades, with a little afternoon sun more recently when the cedar near it fell over during a big snow storm and was removed. It had a main branch off the trunk that was about 10ft tall and the shrub blooms profusely every year. The new owner of the house recently sawed down the largest part of it that was right against the porch and left only one large branch off the main trunk. That branch had curved down over the years seeking the light and is now growing upright somewhat. This is what it looked like a few years ago before being severely pruned: Closeup of the branch that was eventually removed: I almost died when I saw what the neighbor did with the clear-cut pruning on it, thinking he was going to take it up completely, since he pretty much removed almost every single shrub in the front and replaced with [gag] grass... And that and an old rhodie looked like they were next. I think my mother got to him just in time though... He's around my age and she started "mom-ing" him. LOL I don't think he realized what he had! I know that other ericaceous shrubs do well with rejuvenation pruning but the kalmias are so slow-growing that who knows... This one does have a massive root system though, so we'll see.

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.

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

They will recover from hard pruning. The city came through a couple of months ago trimming tree limbs away from the power lines and what they considered 'brush' from the easement in back of our house. They did some extreme pruning on a Texas mountain laurel that I had planted to help screen my compost bin from our easement neighbors. I wasn't all that pleased with their pruning job, but the Mountain laurels surprised me by already putting as much as 36 inches of growth to what was bare sticks. I've let it grow where it pleased, but you will probably want to direct the growth of yours by finger pruning any unwanted directions.