I like all three. Of those, I think Hoogandorn is one of the best. It forms a nice flat mound. It will still require just a bit of pruning, but it really has nice look, color, and form to it. In fact it could almost be mistaken for a Gumpo azalea.

Helleri is a bit bluer. Soft Touch is nice. Mine is just not growing very fast. They all need excellent drainage, but moisture to get established.

In full sun in winter they may bronze just a bit in zone 7a.

Speaking of azaleas, you might even consider a Gumpo type azalea. I'm a fan of Chinzan, but they do like just a bit of shade or else additional watering. Mine are in full sun and get just a tad reddish in winter, but not bad -- and they bloom too.

This post was edited by dave_in_nova on Sat, Aug 31, 13 at 18:25

Thanks that is very helpful. Around here there are a lot of Il crenatas planted around, but I'm really not clever enough to tell which is which - and in nurseries small shrub in pot is not always good indicator of what it will look like 4+ years later :)

Aren't gumbo azaleas hit or miss?
thanks again,
growitnow

What size does hoogendorn get?
Is 3x3 about right?

They will take a while to get 3 feet high x 4 feet wide, depending on what you start out with. They do get larger with time since no plant ever stops growing, but they are easily sheared also.

There are so many Ilex crenata cultivars it's really difficult to sort them out. Like boxwoods.