Beguiling plants win Retailers’ Choice Awards at Farwest

A group of garden retailers participated as judges at this year’s Farwest Show, all helping to find great products displayed by exhibitors that were worthy of Retailers’ Choice Awards.

“We awarded 11 companies awards for 15 amazing plants and products,” said Danny Summers, managing director of The Garden Center Group.

The judges were impressed with the variety as well as the quality of plants and products on display this year by exhibitors.

Award winners are listed below along with the exhibitor booths where they were found at Farwest. (These booths may not necessarily indicate who introduced the plant.):

Dark Mode™ Diervilla

Diervilla × ‘Baildertwo’

Bailey Nurseries

St. Paul, Minnesota

The judges said… “WOW” to Dark Mode™ Diervilla, a bold, upright native selection with purple-black foliage that holds its color all season.

Recurrent yellow flowers contrast vividly against the dark leaves, adding multi-season interest and pollinator appeal.

Compact at 3 feet tall and 3–4 feet wide, it finishes uniformly and works well in production, retail, and landscape settings.

Heuchera Fyre Wing series

Blooming Nursery Inc.

Cornellius, Oregon

The new Heuchera Fyre Wing Series, introduced this year by Terra Nova Nurseries Inc., is an amazing group of new Heucheras with never-seen-before colors plus deeply cut, lacy foliage.

This new series features seven colors, each with imaginative names and matching fun dragon characters! It was also awarded Retailers’ Choice Award at Cultivate’26 by a different group of retail judges.

Ginkgo biloba ‘Troll’ Dwarf

Blue Heron Farm

Salem, Oregon

‘Troll’ is an amazing dwarf ginkgo that is a male grafted clone (seedless). The dwarf compact habit of ‘Troll’ makes it perfect for containers, the ever-shrinking landscape, conifer beds, and fairy gardens.

‘Troll’ may reach 4 ft in height by 3 ft in width in 10 years. ‘Troll’ has a nice dense growth habit and a spectacular golden fall color.

Whitewater Weeping Redbud

Cercis canadensis ‘Whitewater’

Blue Heron Farm

Salem, Oregon

This weeping redbud features stunning variegation and has a weeping habit that grows to 6 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide.

In the spring, it features deep rose-purple, pea-shaped flowers bloom in April and May that are displayed on the bare branches. The flowers give way to heart-shaped leaves, which emerge mostly white with green flecks and mature to mostly green with white flecks.

Its weeping habit is an exciting addition to the bright variegated foliage.

Saturnalia™ American Oak Hybrid

Quercus × ‘HSLMK’ PPAF

Heritage Seedlings & Liners Inc.

Salem, Oregon

A hybrid of silverleaf (Q. hypoleucoides) and red oak (Q. rubra) found among seedlings grown at Heritage Seedlings & Liners Inc.

Red-blushed new leaves mature to glossy dark green with acute lobes and thick texture, silvery green beneath. Long lasting fall color is bronze-green to rusty red.

It has vigorous upright growth, a strong leader, open branch angles and wide adaptability merit its use as an urban tree across the continent.

Early trials show it to thrive in the heat and humidity of North Carolina, as well as its first winter at the Chicago Bontanic Garden. Grows to 25 feet wide by 40 feet tall.

Edge of Night Mondo Grass

Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Edge of Night’

Iseli Nursery

Boring, Oregon

A “Pin-Striped” Black Mondo?

An attractive form of Black Mondo Grass. A very narrow white stripe runs down the outside edge of each blade-like leaf, providing a subtle contrast with the predominant shiny black color.

Edge of Night’s variegated leaves aren’t flashy, but they make a statement. The sleek black blades catch the light while the narrow white edge adds definition — giving your garden a tailored, high-end look even in shaded spots.

Its low profile keeps it tidy and contained, without crowding other plants. The retail judges were impressed!

Coral Spear® Crabapple

Malus x ‘JFS GM272MX’ PPAF

J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.

Boring, Oregon

Coral Spear® is the latest introduction to the Spear® line of crabapple trees to be released from the New Plant Development Department of J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.

Deep pink buds open to pink flowers that retain their color through the flowering season. This narrow upright crabapple maintains it’s dark green disease-free foliage throughout the growing season. Small yellow to golden orange fruit appears in the fall.

Coral Spear® is the latest addition to the JFS series of columnar crabapples that also includes Ivory Spear® and Raspberry Spear®. Grows to 20 feet tall and 8 feet wide. Hardy to zones 4a–9b.

Centennial Ruby™ Hydrangea

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Hokocentennial’ PPAF

Monrovia Nursery Company

Dayton, Oregon

Selected from a hydrangea breeding program in the Netherlands, this plant was introduced and submitted by Monrovia Nursery Company. It’s a special release to celebrate Monrovia’s 100th anniversary.

The flowers of this hydrangea are simply stunning. The rich ruby-red mophead blooms deepen in color as the longlasting flowers age, sometimes taking on almost black hues.

It’s deciduous, with exceptionally sturdy and compact, with strong stems and thick green leaves and it is reblooming. Grows to 3 feet wide by 3 feet tall. Hardy to zones 4a–9b.

Crimson Feather False Spirea

Sorbaria ‘Crimson Feather’ PPAF

Monrovia Nursery Company

Dayton, Oregon

The colors are the real show for this plant both in new growth and fall.

Bright golden to chartreuse leaves feature deep scarlet-red new growth, making for a fantastically colorful shrub. The stunning red color holds into summer and is truly a sight to behold.

Sorbaria Crimson Feather’s new red growth is the brightest in the assortment so far, and as if that’s not enough, Crimson Feather is not susceptible to diseases either.

Reaches 5 ft. tall and wide and hardy in zones 2-10. Clusters of white flowers bloom in July.

More compact than ‘Sem’, making it excellent for containers. This hardy, easy-care shrub requires little to no pruning to maintain.

Featherman Chastetree

Vitex negundo heterophyllla ‘V14-9-1’ PPAF

Proven Winners® ColorChoice®, Sycamore, Illinois

This amazing new chastetree was hybridized by Carol Robacker at the University of Georgia and introduced by Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs/Spring Meadow Nursery.

The dense, deeply-cut foliage on a narrow selection of Vitex with hidden sterile flowers. Can you imagine a Vitex as a unique drought tolerant hedge? A carefree plant that withstands drought, heat, and snow. Grows to 2–3 feet wide by 3–5 feet tall. Hardy to zones 5a–10b.

Candybox® Chilean Guava

Ugni molinae ‘Pl16’ PPAF

Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Sycamore, Illinois

Hybridized by Viveros Hijuelas of Quillota, Chile and introduced by Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs/Spring Meadow Nursery. It’s a new compact form of Chilean guava that makes an excellent drought-tolerant hedge.

Adorned with delicate, silky flowers throughout the plant in summer, the resulting fruit is an explosion of spices and sweetness in autumn.

Drought tolerant, evergreen and well-behaved shrub for the landscape and edible gardens. Grows to 2–3 feet wide by 2–3 feet tall. Hardy to zones 7a–9b.

Calluna ‘Bud Bloomers’ Series

Calluna vulgaris

Qualitree Propagators,

Rosedale, BC, Canada

While common heather may not be what you think of as a typical Retailers’ Choice Winner, this series caught a lot of attention, especially being shown in a bowl planter with lots of color, including two combinations, in addition to three solid colors of purple, white and pink.

Calluna ‘Bud Bloomers’ features dark green foliage adorned with colorful, urn-shaped buds from late summer into autumn.

The buds are shaped similarly to the nib of a pen, with the brilliant color of the flowers all on the outside of the bud.

 The flowers do not open up, protecting their inner vibrance from rain and sun, a main advantage of the long-lasting beauty of Calluna ‘Bud Bloomers’.

Variegated Hawaiian Banana

Musa × Paradisiaca ‘AeAe’

Van Wingerden Greenhouses,

Blaine, Washington

This Variegated Banana is a star. Musa × Paradisiaca ‘Ae Ae’, also known Royal Hawaiian, Sacred Banana, Koae (hair prematurely graying) that is indigenous to the Hawaiian islands.

They get their name from their gorgeous white and green striped leaves. They can reach a height of 15 feet when grown in ideal conditions, but when grown in pots, they typically stay smaller.

Elephant Ear Zebrina

Alocasia ‘Zebrina’

Youngblood Nursery Inc.

Salem, Oregon

While the retail judges had seen Alocasia ‘Zebrina’ before, they had never seen one this large, so its impact was stunning!

It’s green and white stems were dramatic and stopped you in your tracks. The combination of dramatic stem contrasts and size to really increase the WOW effect! This is a case where size does matter!

Philodendron nangaritense

Youngblood Nursery Inc.

Salem, Oregon

Is it a large Colocasia or something else? Well, it turns out is a huge Philodendron! The judges were completely awestruck by its magnificent sized foliage and unique leaf shape. Originating from the Nangaritza Valley in southern Ecuador, this plant’s elongated, lance-shaped leaves are a visual masterpiece, showcasing intricate silver or cream-colored veining against a backdrop of deep green. 

From the November 2026 issue of Digger magazine | Download PDF of article