Nightfall Snowbell (Styrax japonicus ‘JFS 6SJ’) was chosen by voting attendees as the People’s Choice winner in the 2022 Farwest Show’s New Varieties Showcase. That makes it a sweep for the introduction from J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co., which also won the New Varieties Showcase Best in Show award from Farwest’s professional judges. It also won a Retailer’s Choice Award at the show. Read more on that here.
Nightfall Snowbell was one of 61 outstanding new selections on display at the 2021 Farwest Show and available from at least one show exhibitor. It was bred by Oregon Nurseries’ Hall of Fame member Keith Warren for JFS, which is based in Boring, Oregon.
The show opened Wednesday, August 24, and continues through 2 p.m. today, Friday, August 26, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon.
“The many great attributes of this weeping tree caught the attention of our attendees and judges alike,” said Heather Cyrus, event and education manager for the Oregon Association of Nurseries, which produces the show.
Nightfall Snowbell combines the deep purple foliage of Evening Light Snowbell with the gratefully weeping form of green-leafed cultivars such as Fragrant Fountain. It features purple emerging leaves with green undertones, which contrast with pearly white flower buds in spring. They open to reveal creamy white, bell-shaped blooms. The leaves darken as the season continues. It is available from J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. (Booth #19026) as #10 containers and multiple bare root sizes.
