17. Knap Hill-azaleas
“Garden azaleas”: crosses between the small-flowered Ghent and large-flowered Mollis azaleas
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Most of the so-called garden azaleas in trade today belong in this group. It is named after the nursery in England where they were bred by two generations of Waterers at the end of 19th century. They crossed the small-flowered Ghent azaleas with the large-flowered Mollis types. In this way, they achieved a greater variation in colour and form of the flowers and managed to combine the best properties of both groups.
Knap Hill azaleas continue to be improved and renewed, and their highly heterogeneous origins show in the diversity of their characteristics. The old-fashioned pink ‘Homebush’ is similar to the Ghents, while the new American large-flowered ‘Mount St. Helens’ is very like a Mollis azalea.
There are several distinct breeding lines, some of which are referred to by name, such as the Exbury azaleas. These all originate from the Knap Hill-cultivar ‘George Reynolds’, and one of the first named in this line was the fiery ‘Hotspur Red’. In Germany, further breeding has also given good results, as in the wonderful yellow ‘Goldpracht’ and the low, delicate ‘Möve’.
