Updated August 28, 2018 to include People’s Choice winners announced the last day of the show.
Judges and attendees at the 2018 Farwest Show agreed in each selecting SUMMERIFIC ‘Cherry Choco Latte’ Rose Mallow (Hibiscus SUMMERIFIC® ‘Cherry Choco Latte’ PPAF CBRAF) as the Best in Show winner in the show’s New Varieties Showcase.
‘Cherry Choco Latte’ was one of 62 outstanding new selections on display at the 2018 Farwest Show and available from at least one show exhibitor. The show took place August 22–24 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon.
“Farwest consistently displays the best new selections the horticulture industry has to offer, and our 2018 show was no different,” show director Allan Niemi of the Oregon Association of Nurseries said.
‘Cherry Choco Latte’ is introduced by Walters Gardens Inc. and is available from Farwest Show exhibitor Walla Walla Nursery Co. Inc. (Booth #12019). It is a brand-new, long blooming Hibiscus with a smaller size that is more suitable for tighter spaces. Very large, 8–9-inch, three-dimensional flowers are white with intense deep pink veining and a notably large red eye. Attractive dark olive green foliage has bronze highlights and forms a compact clump, with flowers covering the entire habit later in the season. Best in full sun but tolerates part shade. Needs average to consistent moisture, is deer resistant, attracts hummingbirds, and is a native hybrid. Best in landscapes.
In addition of the Best of Show award, judges and voters gave Awards of Merit as follows:
- Hibiscus SUMMERIFIC® ‘Holy Grail’ PPAF CPBRAF — Judges’ Award of Merit and People’s Choice Award of Merit. Introduced by Walters Gardens Inc. and available from Walla Walla Nursery Co. (Booth #12019). The creators called this hardy hibiscus “the holy grail” from its inception because they knew we had something special. There’s a whole lot to love about this plant, beginning with its incredible dark, near-black foliage of beautiful, oval shaped leaves. Rich, deep red flowers are enormous at 8-9 inches across. The red and black colors perfectly complement each other. Height: 4-4.5′ Spread: 4.5-5′ Traits: Best in full sun but tolerates part shade, average to consistent moisture, deer resistant, attracts hummingbirds, native hybrid, best in landscapes.
- Urban Sunset® Maple (Acer truncatum × platanoides ‘JFS-KW187’ PP27545) — Judges’ Award of Merit. Selected by Keith Warren from the maple breeding program of J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co., and introduced by (and available from) J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. (Booth #19026). The dark green leaves of this heat- and drought tolerant tree explode with bright, long-lasting red-to-deep red tones in autumn. A perfect fit for urban landscapes, this vigorous and upright growing tree calipers well as it develops a uniformly branched canopy with minimal pruning. Compact and narrow, it develops an ideal street tree form and produces very few seeds. Selected as an outstanding performer from the breeder’s 30-plus-year effort to combine the best characteristics of Asian and European maple species, its handsome, pest and disease resistant foliage is glossy and tatter resistant. Urban Sunset® is compact and upright, with a stronger central leader than other Acer truncatum × A. platanoides hybrids on the market, with exceptionally handsome summer foliage. Produces fewer seeds and has deeper red, long lasting fall color. Hardy to Zone 4b.
- Summer Wine® Black Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘SMNPMS’ PPAF, CPBRAF) — Judges’ Award of Merit. Bred by Tim Wood at Spring Meadow Nursery in Grand Haven, Michigan and introduced by Spring Meadow Nursery and Proven Winners. Available from Proven Winners (Booth #3049).Bred by Tim Wood at Spring Meadow Nursery in Grand Haven, Michigan and introduced by Spring Meadow Nursery and Proven Winners. Its dark purple-black foliage, the darkest of any ninebark, gives Summer Wine® Black a dramatic presence in the landscape. With its semi dwarf, compact habit, and disease resistant foliage, it offers outstanding potential for landscapers and homeowners alike. Summer Wine® can be planted in full sun and used for mixed borders, hedges, specimens and foundation plantings. It is disease resistant, with a compact habit and pink spring flowers. Adaptable to most well-drained soils and tolerates drought once established. This plant is best left unpruned, but it can be pruned after blooming if needed. Hardy down to -40 F (-40 C). Zones 3–7.
- Dolce® Wildberry Coral Bells (Heuchera × ‘Wildberry’ PPAF, CPBRAF) — People’s Choice Award of Merit. Introduced by Walters Gardens Inc. and available from Farwest exhibitor Proven Winners (Booth #3049). The intense purple color of the foliage is second to none! Large, scalloped, incredibly glossy leaves are a vibrant shade of purple. Charcoal veining accent the leaf color and make the leaves really pop. Dark stems hold white flowers with rosy pink calyxes . A strong grower with excellent vigor. Foliage Height: 10–14 inches. Scape Height: 26–28 inches. Spread: 16–20 inches. Zones 4–9.
- Maui Wormwood (Artemisia mauiensis MAKANA ‘Silver’) — People’s Choice Award of Merit. Bred, introduced by and available from Farwest exhibitor Terra Nova Nurseries (Booth #16047). Artemisia mauiensis MAKANA™ ‘Silver’ makes a mounding, small shrub with better habit than the species. Its soft, silvery foliage works great in a mixed container or in the ground. Can be used for containers, accent, or planted en masse. It can be trained as a small specimen tree. It is fast growing and needs good drainage. Perennial in Zones 9–11.
All of the New Varieties Showcase selections are viewable at https://farwestshow.com/new-varieties-showcase/.
