Clematis 'Stellar'

Clematis 'Stellar' is a Polish breeding by Szczepan Marczyński: raised in 2014 from a cross between Clematis terniflora 'Early Snow' and a fragrant selection of Clematis terniflora var. mandshurica, named in 2021 and in the trade since 2022. Its small, 3–4 cm flowers are fragrant and star-shaped, white to creamy white, with clear gaps between the four narrow tepals; the filaments are creamy white, the anthers yellow.

From July to September, the fragrant star-shaped flowers appear in abundance. At 200–300 cm, 'Stellar' climbs by its leaf stalks on free-standing or wall-mounted trellises and natural supports, but also thrives in a large container. In a sunny, free-draining spot its scent develops best, making it a decorative eye-catcher and fragrance accent in the garden.

'Stellar' is reliably hardy (zone 5, down to about -28.8 to -23.4 °C). It flowers on new growth and belongs to pruning group 3: cut the plant back hard to about 10 cm in March, and it will readily resprout and flower generously through summer. Do not confuse 'Stellar' with the older, similarly named cultivars 'Stella' (Jackman, 1872) and 'Stella' (Markham, 1937) — despite the similar name, these are different plants.