I'm growing mine as shurbs, planted inground, full sun. They have bloomed in the past but not in 2005 or 2006. So far in 2007, no bloom action yet. Plants are healthy although very slow growers, ocassionally attacked by those web-worm like critters. Nothing that some neem oil can't rectify.
Your input will be greatly appreciated.
TX Mtn Laurel not blooming, know why?
Vossner, the bloom buds or spikes on the mountain laurel form in Spring on the new growth for the following year, shortly after the have finished blooming and new growth starts, mine are forming now for next year.
So if insects ate your new growth last year, that is why they didn't bloom, if you can prevent them from being eaten this spring, I think you will have blooms next year.
Josephine.
Hopefully, in your zeal to make your trees shrubs you didn't cut off the unseen forming buds which are forming now or so.
Ann
ann, I thought about that so I made it a point not to trim in 2005 in order to protect the 2006 bud formation. I had made a similar mistake earlier w/ azaleas, so I was relatively aware of what it would cost me to be "prune crazy". I haven't actually done a lot of pruning, as these are so doggone slow anyway. They are barely 2 ft tall now and they were approx. 1 ft tall when I initially got them.
Josephine, that explanation sounds quite possible. I do remember bugs were going big time for the tender shoots last year. Would you recommend that I spray now (as a preventive measure) to protect the tender shoots, which will be next year's blooms?
I appreciate both your input. thanks.
I would say that if you see no insects there is no need to spray, but keep a watchful eye on them.
Actually, now that you mentioned how big they are, I think your shrubs are too young to bloom, I hate to tell you, but mine took four or five years.
I will try to take a close up picture of the new bloom spike, so you can see what they look like, and if none will form this year, at least you will know what to expect.
Mine stopped traffic last year, it bloomed so well. This year was considerably less spectacular. I don't know what the difference was, but this was apparently not a good year for Mtn Laurel blooms in Houston. :-) I get those web worms, too, nasty little critters.
Marylyn, how old was your tree before it bloomed?
I don't know.. they were here when we moved in 5 years ago. They are big, though, so I suspect they've been here for quite a while.
This is a picture of mine in 2004 after about a year or two in the ground. I was told that they are true natives and like to be stressed a little. So I don't baby mine by watering it and I don't provide it with ANY fertilizer of ar all. I was also told that the fertilizer in some way makes the plant more attractive to those nasty genista catepillars that attack it each year. Don't understand it all but it seems to be good advice so far.
Here is the same plant this year. I had lots of new growth and most of my blooms were hidden by the new growth. If you look closely you can see the purple blooms underneath the new foliage.
Here is ours last year just as it started blooming. Note the roof of the house behind it... The other one gets less sun and is slightly smaller.
Lovely Marylyn. I hope mine looks like that some day.
Vossner, I finally got a picture of the Texas Mountain Laurel new flower spike.
These are at the ends of the new growth and they are the flowers for next year.
You can check and see if your plant is forming some now.
I hope that helps.
Josephine.
Josephine, so are you saying that if they haven't bloomed by now, then they won't? Oh I hate that. They are so green and lush. I'll try to remember to take a pic of what I have.
I know I haven't seen anything as shown in your pic, but I will keep my eye and report here.
thank you so much for your help.
Yes, if they haven't bloomed by now they won't bloom this year, but maybe next year they will reward you with lots of blooms.
Josephine.
Mountain Laurel, if I remember correctly,likes alkaline soil. The information we received from our garden club said that you can make the tree/shrub grow quickly if you put lots of nitrogen at its base. I did that and mine grew dramatically. Actually, I've never seen so much top growth on the TML as pictured above. Mostly the top growth was relatively sparse as far as leaves were concerned and the flowers are easy to see because of that.
Ann
not a texan here, but i just put one of these in the ground this spring. it's about a foot high and putting on some new growth. i hope it won't be too wet here for it but it's away from my garden so even though i am watering until it's established, eventually it will only get rain, no extra hose water.
Tracks, these grow in the coastal areas along the highways and I seriously doubt the county stops by to give them extra hose water. I think your land will be perfect for TX Mtn Laurels and soon enough will become Umatilla Mtn Laurels, lol.
lol, nery! i should have showed it to you but i forgot. it was along side the extra lot by the holly trees. i have a Savannah holly and a Pride of Houston holly. maybe i'm a texan at heart?! i'll tell you one thing i love about texas. the boys are so polite. all that yes ma'am and no ma'am stuff-i love it!
This message was edited Apr 10, 2007 2:44 PM
I'm happy to hear that, ma'am.