Hi to all -

I have a bit of a puzzle, combined with a mystery, so please bear with me. According to my records, what 'should' have been in my gardens (what I ordered, years ago) is Vancouver 'Fragrant Star'.

First part of the puzzle: whatever is flowering in the garden is 'not' Vancouver 'Fragrant Star' (and no, it is not fragrant) ... so, can anyone tell me what this may actually be?



It's white with a maroon center, but does not appear to be Vancouver 'Fragrant Star' ... and it flowers reliably every year, alongside Guernsey Cream, early to mid-June. I garden in zone 3 and the original tag is long gone, but Vancouver 'Fragrant Star' is the only clematis in my list that comes even close to the flower blooming, so I presume my clematis was incorrectly labeled.

My 'mystery clematis' and Guernsey Cream are planted side by side, alongside the house and they are the 'only' two clematis in that area ... no other clematis is planted within at least 100 ft. of where these two have flowered for years.

So, when I noticed (last year) that another clematis had shown up along the same area of the house - about 10 ft away from my mystery clematis and Guernsey Cream - I let it alone, thinking, "why you little devil, you've run under ground and popped up just a few yards away again"... assuming it was either my mystery clematis or Guernsey Cream.

Now for the real mystery: 10 feet from my (2) white-blooming clematis, I have a new clematis flowering ... I literally have 'NO' other clematis anywhere on my property that looks like this new one.



What on earth happened? Is this a seedling from my 'unknown' clematis that (somehow) crossed with one of my purple varieties, more than 100 + feet away?

Is this an anonmoly of my 'unknown' clematis, that is blooming in a new location and a different colour?

There are multiple blooms on the 'new' one (which seems to have planted itself)... and all of them are a pale lavender purple with a maroon center.

I should add: the 'new' one has somehow shown up in a place I never would have thought it would even survive: in shade, on the north side of my house, against the foundation and wall of the house and growing quite cheerfully and hardy in zone 3.

Help! Does anyone have any suggestions / ideas on how this may have happened? Or 'what' may have happened? My purple varieties, by the way (none of which is very near) are: 'Crystal Fountain', 'Venosa Violacea', 'Piilu', 'Josephine', 'Mrs. Robert Brydon' and 'Betty Corning'.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!