I bought it in late October and planted immediately on the west side of my home - it gets a good bit of sun, but is shaded by a false cypress later in the afternoon. It is next to the blighted boxwoods I asked about in another post, though - could those be affecting it? It is also close to a small holly (which seems to be doing just fine).

Like its close relatives rhododendrons and azaleas, kalmias prefer an acidic, well drained and organically rich soil. They dislike being planted deeply and they don't like to dry out. IME, newly planted or unestablished kalmias can be more prone to cold damage in an unusual winter. However, this looks more like a cultural issue than any cold damage. Did it get sufficient water after planting?

And the boxwood blight is restricted to plants in the Buxaceae family.....so far.

Good to know about the box. Rhododendrons and azaleas are popular around here (I have several of each flourishing in other locations in my yard), so I assume that my soil is sufficiently acidic, though I have some acidifier I can add if that might help. I think it got enough water during the fall and winter, but I admit I didn't pay a ton of attention to watering because the weather was generally quite wet. Drainage in that area is good as far as I can tell.

I'm guessing there is no saving the leaves that are fully browned out - would a rejuvenation pruning potentially help? Probably nothing to lose at this point?

"I'm guessing there is no saving the leaves that are fully browned out - would a rejuvenation pruning potentially help? Probably nothing to lose at this point?"

It would certainly make them look better.

But go easy- I have several varieties of Kalmia and not one of them grows more than an inch each year. They may be the slowest growing woody shrub I have.

"I admit I didn't pay a ton of attention to watering because the weather was generally quite wet."

That this one looks so pitiful leads me to think it didn't get enough water deep enough down during those first, crucial months.

It can be hard to remember to go outside and water when it's cold December, but if you have new plants and the ground is not frozen you have to. You also need to make sure that the water you put down actually penetrates the soil to full root depth. I know when it rains here it feels wet but if I go dig down in my soil it's still dry an inch down, and I'll bet yours is, as well.

Just a general caution for fall planting- you still gotta water..

I have many native Kalmia all over my property that were here when we bought the place over 20 years ago (Central Massachusetts). In bloom, they are my DH's favorite. Several years ago, I noticed the were all beginning to look ratty and tatty. I had my arborist look at them -- he said they had some specific thing wrong (and I totally forget what exactly, sorry), but that there was a solution. Ever since, my Kalmia get an IPM spray twice a year which has slowly worked to improve them. It is a slow process, but worth it, IMO. All are healthy now.

I made sure that the product used would not hurt the local amphibians, birds, etc. Those populations are thriving...

I am horrified and sad that I appear to have the boxwood blight here as well. A large specimen boxwood by my front door seemed to succumb over this past winter -- it is completely brown, all 4x4 feet of it. Grrrrr. I shall be removing and disposing of it. D*mn.

it snowed yesterday ... so forgive me about my lack of knowledge of z7 .. but crikey how many posts do we have about peeps in warm zones already thinking about removing plants ... its the 3rd week of march ... and the plants havent even leafed put yet ..

dont you at least wait to see if they are viable enough to leaf out before you are done with them. . or is space that precious???

ken

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5, most of my plants have started to leaf out - hydrangeas, lilacs, roses, etc are in full swing. Forsythia is blooming! I will wait to do anything to the kalmia but it sounds like the boxwood should go asap, so as not to infect my other boxwoods nearby (if they haven't already).

Update - the kalmia survived! It defoliated pretty badly but as the weather has warmed up over the past few weeks, new leaves are emerging. I pruned lightly to remove everything I could tell was truly dead, and will prune again once the new leaves are out, but I'm thrilled to see green!