Announcing the Best in Show Variety Winner from the 2026 Farwest Show

Saturnalia™ American hybrid oak (Quercus ‘HSLMK’) was chosen by professional judges as the Best in Show winner in the 2026 Farwest Show’s New Varieties Showcase.

A hybrid of Silverleaf (Q. hypoleucoides) and Red Oak (Q. rubra), Saturnalia was found among seedlings grown at Heritage Seedlings & Liners.

“Plant breeding and new plant introductions help fuel the nursery industry and drive innovation,” says Connie Lindsay, Trade Show Manager for the Oregon Association of Nurseries, which produces the show. “Our judges were impressed with the quality and variety of new plants on display this year at Farwest. We’re thrilled these new plants are entering the market and excited that we have a role in helping make that happen.”

Saturnalia™ American hybrid oak features 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. 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. It grows to 25 feet wide by 40 feet tall and is hardy to Zones 5b–9b.

In addition to the Best of Show award, judges gave three Awards of Merit as follows:

Lantana Luscious® Vanilla Breeze™ (Lantana camara Luscious® Vanilla Breeze™)

Introduced by Proven Winners.

According to them, “As beautiful as they are, sometimes bold red or gold lantanas just won’t work in some container recipes or landscape designs like those where pastel pinks and blues dominate. That’s where the elegant Luscious® Vanilla Breeze™ lantana shines. This lantana’s fragrant blossoms open soft, buttery yellow and mature to white — an essential color that brings balance and refinement. They are produced abundantly all over the large, well-branched, spreading canopy of this landscape-sized lantana. Luscious Vanilla Breeze is a heat-tolerant lantana that works beautifully in mass landscape plantings and large container recipes, adding a cool splash of white on hot summer days. Like all Proven Winners lantanas, it produces few to no seeds and requires no deadheading to bloom non-stop all season.”

Its height and spread grow to 20–26 inches, and it’s hardy to Zones 9a–11a.

Sofia® Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus ‘Zsofi’)

Introduced by Concept Plants and Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas.

According to them, “Prunus Sofia is a game-changer. It’s 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. 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’, Prunus Sofia is an ideal choice for homeowners and landscape professionals alike.”

Its height grows to 60 inches, and spread grows to 40 inches, and it’s hardy to Zones 5a–8b.

Crimson Feathers False Spirea (Sorbaria sorbifolia ‘Hyfaria’)

Introduced by Concept Plants.

According to them, “A truly spectacular addition to the Sorbaria family, Crimson Feather is a beautiful, compact, and extremely hardy shrub that boasts large, feathery golden leaves with new, intense crimson-red growth, creating a beautiful contrast to the mature lime-green leaves. 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. A stunning, trouble-free cultivar and deserved winner of Gold at the HTA New Plant Awards 2022. Sorbaria Crimson Feather looks beautiful in pots, borders, and Japanese gardens, but it will also make an impressive low hedge that will attract pollinators from far and wide.”

Its height and spread grow to 40 inches, and it’s hardy to Zones 2a–11a.

All of the New Varieties Showcase selections are viewable at the Farwest Show and at FarwestShow.com/NVS.