Farwest Show award winners announced

Sofia® Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus ‘Zsofi’ PP33411) was voted the People’s Choice Best in Show winner in the 2026 Farwest Show’s New Varieties Showcase. Show attendees voted on Wednesday and Thursday, and the winners were announced today. The show concludes today, Friday, August 28, 2026, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.

Introduced by Concept Plants and Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas, Sofia Cherry Laurel is one of 26 outstanding new selections on display at the 2026 Farwest Show and available from at least one show exhibitor.

“Plant breeding and new plant introductions help fuel the nursery industry and drive innovation,” said Connie Lindsay, trade show manager for the Oregon Association of Nurseries, which produces the show. “People attending Farwest got to see a tremendous variety of high-quality new introductions. We’re thrilled these new plants are entering the market and excited that we have a role in helping make that happen.”

According to Concept Plants and Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas, Sofia Cherry Laurel is a game-changer, a beautiful, easy-care ornamental cherry that delivers year-round appeal. It features fine-textured, elegant foliage that creates a light, refined look throughout the growing season, and its compact habit makes it perfect for small gardens, patios, entryways, streetscapes, and urban landscapes, where it can be used as a low hedge or a graceful accent in mixed plantings. It responds well to pruning and is easy to shape. Combining outstanding ornamental value with improved disease resistance over ‘Otto Luyken,’ it is an ideal choice for homeowners and landscape professionals alike. It matures to 60 inches tall and 40 inches wide and is hardy in zones 5a–8b. It’s available in containers (#6, #10) from KG Farms (Booth #9029), Bizon Nursery (Booth #12037), and Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas Inc. (Booth #14043).

In addition to the People’s Choice Best of Show award, voters chose three Awards of Merit. Centennial Ruby Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Hokocentennial’ PPAF) was selected from a hydrangea breeding program in the Netherlands and introduced by Monrovia Nursery Company. Monrovia describes it as a special release celebrating the company’s 100th anniversary, with stunning rich ruby-red mophead flowers that deepen in color, sometimes to almost black, as they age. It is exceptionally sturdy and compact, with strong stems and thick green leaves, and it reblooms and is deciduous. It grows to 3 feet wide and tall and is hardy in zones 4a–9b, available as #5 containers from Monrovia Nursery Company (Booth #17037).

Candybox Chilean Guava (Ugni molinae ‘Pl16’ PPAF) (pictured right) was hybridized by Viveros Hijuelas of© Farwest Show Quillota, Chile, and introduced by Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs. Proven Winners describes it as a new compact form of Chilean guava that makes an excellent drought-tolerant hedge, adorned with delicate, silky flowers throughout the plant in summer, with fruit in autumn that delivers an explosion of spices and sweetness. It is a drought-tolerant, evergreen, and well-behaved shrub suited to both landscape and edible gardens. It grows to 2–3 feet wide by 2–3 feet tall and is hardy in zones 7a–9b, available as #1 and #3 containers from Alpha Nursery (Booth #13037).

DreamScape Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘BAICZ10′ PPAF, CBRAF) was introduced by First Editions Shrubs & Trees and submitted by Bailey Nurseries. Bailey describes it as a major advancement in pink Hydrangea arborescens, delivering value for growers, retailers, and landscapers, with bold 8–10-inch mophead flowers that open ruby pink and age to parchment pink, held upright on strong stems that withstand wind and rain. Its dark green foliage stays clean in production, on the shelf, and in the landscape, and its uniform, mounded habit — 3–4 feet tall and 4–5 feet wide — adapts to sun or part shade. Bred by Bailey Nurseries, it sets a new standard in the category. It is hardy in zones 3a–8b and available as liners and #2 and #3 containers from Bailey Nurseries Inc. (Booth #17019), Alpha Nursery (Booth #13037), Kraemer’s Nursery Inc. (Booth #15031), Powell’s Nursery Inc. (Booth #14031), and Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas Inc. (Booth #14043).

Earlier in the week, professional judges awarded the New Varieties Showcase Judges’ Choice awards. Judges’ Best in Show went to Saturnalia American hybrid oak (pictured right), introduced by© Farwest Show Heritage Seedlings & Liners Inc. Its red-blushed new leaves mature to glossy dark green with acute lobes and thick texture, silvery green beneath, and its long-lasting fall color runs from bronze-green to rusty red. Vigorous upright growth, a strong leader, open branch angles, and wide adaptability merit its use as an urban tree across the continent, and early trials show it thriving in the heat and humidity of North Carolina as well as through its first winter at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It grows to 25 feet wide by 40 feet tall and is hardy in zones 5b–9b, available as #1, #2, and #5 containers from Heritage Seedlings & Liners Inc. (Booth #15037).

In addition to the Best of Show award, judges gave three Awards of Merit. Lantana Luscious Vanilla Breeze (Lantana camara Luscious Vanilla BreezePPAF), introduced by Proven Winners, was recognized for its elegant, fragrant blossoms that open soft, buttery yellow and mature to white, a balancing, refined color for container recipes and landscape designs that don’t suit bold reds or golds. Produced abundantly across a large, well-branched, spreading canopy, this heat-tolerant, landscape-sized lantana works beautifully in mass plantings and large container recipes. Like all Proven Winners lantanas, it produces few to no seeds and requires no deadheading to bloom non-stop all season. It reaches 20–26 inches in height and spread and is hardy in zones 9a–11a, available in liners from Proven Winners (Booth #8055).

The second Judges’ Award of Merit went to Sofia Cherry Laurel, detailed above. The third went to Crimson Feathers False Spirea (Sorbaria sorbifolia ‘Hyfaria’ PP36847), introduced by Concept Plants. According to them, Crimson Feather is a beautiful, compact, and extremely hardy shrub with large, feathery golden leaves and new, intense crimson-red growth that contrasts strikingly with its mature lime-green foliage. The red color holds into summer, and its new growth is the brightest in the assortment so far — all while remaining disease-resistant. A stunning, trouble-free cultivar, it was a deserved winner of Gold at the HTA New Plant Awards 2022, and it looks beautiful in pots, borders, and Japanese gardens, while also making an impressive low hedge that attracts pollinators from far and wide. It reaches 40 inches in height and spread and is hardy in zones 2a–11a, available in #3 containers from Monrovia (Booth #17037) and Meridian Young Plants (Booth #12055).