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Azalea

Deciduous. Wide growing, robust, upright with clusters of silvery pointed buds on the tip of every branch in winter. Vibrant dark pink, spicy scented flowers in late May appear to be nearly red from a distance. Large mildew resistant foliage often turns reddish orange before dropping in autumn. This plant is a hybrid between the rock-hardy Rh. prinophyllum (roseum) and a red flowering Rh. mollis selection. Ed Mezitt performed this cross in the 1960s. Similar crosses, originally by Frank Abbott of Bellows Falls, Vermont, in the 1930s, created the Abbott hybrids we've grown since 1942. PP -- This cultivar or species has been selected as a "Proven Performer" by the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society and performs consistently well in USDA Zones 5 and 6 Massachusetts landscapes.
HERITAGE: (mollis hybrid x prinophyllum) selected in the 1970s