Clematis x integrifolia Saphyra Estrella

The Clematis 'Saphyra Estrella' is a creation of INRA, the latest addition to the Saphyra series which offers very compact plants, perfectly hardy, disease-resistant and highly floriferous. It stands out first for its small size and more bushy habit than climbing, making it suitable for small gardens and for decorating terraces and patios. Highly floriferous from spring to summer, it produces violet flowers with fairly thin sepals that resemble large stars and give way to silky decorative fruits late in the season. Its use as a ground cover among perennials and shrubs adds a touch of fantasy and luxuriance to any border.

The genus Clematis belongs to the family of buttercups. 'Saphyra Estrella' is a horticultural variety derived in particular from Clematis integrifolia, a herbaceous Clematis native to southern Europe. It belongs to the Clematis that bloom all summer on the current year's growth. It is a semi-woody and climbing plant, with short stems, which will not exceed 1m (3ft) in height, with a spread of 1m². Every spring, a multitude of stems emerge from its base.

This Clematis bears medium-sized patens-type flowers, 8 cm (3in) in diameter, from June to September, with 5 or 6 petals, single and well open. The bisexual flowers are solitary or grouped in cymes. They have fairly thick, blue-violet sepals, open in a star shape with a heart of yellow stamens that turn white. The deciduous leaves are simple, dark green, palmate, with irregularly serrated edges.

Plant your Clematis alongside your climbing roses to extend the flowering of your walls and pergolas until the end of summer. It is a genus rich in diversity, with flowers of all colours, shapes and sizes. Take advantage of their easy cultivation to give your garden a romantic and bohemian touch. 'Saphyra Estrella', thanks to its very modest size, will also thrive in a pot on a balcony or next to an entrance door. It will also look beautiful placed above a low wall, where it will flower throughout the summer. It can also be allowed to freely run as a ground cover in a shrub border composed of landscape or ground cover roses, escallonias, deutzias or spireas.