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Miniature star-like flowers with a fragrant touch ✨
Family: Apocynaceae · Pot diameter: 15cm · Height: 65cm
Trachelospermum asiaticum ‘TRSUZ01’ Star of Milano® is an evergreen star jasmine of manageable scale that combines two unusual details: green leaves edged in cream and flushed pink when young, together with fragrant flowers in pink and very pale bicoloured tones. Slender woody stems make a light vertical surface in which every bright leaf remains distinct. Seen closely it looks intricate and lively; from farther away it reads as a calm mosaic of green, cream and pink.
Its appearance changes without losing coherence: new growth may blush red or pink, mature leaves hold a green centre and cream margin, and spring-to-summer bloom adds scented pinwheels. Trained growth reaches roughly 3 × 2m and needs wires or mesh; it remains leafy through a mild winter, while colder weather can intensify pink and bronze tones.
Trachelospermum asiaticum ‘TRSUZ01’ Star of Milano® received a KVBC bronze distinction in 2021 and was shortlisted for RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year in 2024; it was not the winner.
An evergreen lattice of cream margins, pink young growth and scented bicoloured flowers, held at a more manageable scale.
Green centres, cream margins and pink colour on young or cold-season growth sustain interest beyond flowering.
Small five-lobed flowers open pink to very pale bicolours and perfume a nearby path.
Twining stems fill wires or mesh to about 3 × 2m, relying on training rather than self-attachment.
Why you will love it: it brings evergreen vertical structure, fragrance and genuine colour change to a place where a much larger climber would overwhelm the space.
Train it on firm wires, a narrow trellis or a small pergola near an entrance or seat. Give morning or later-day sun and allow about 1–1.2m between plants when you want their surfaces to meet without losing the variegated pattern.
Cream edges and pink flowers read cleanly beside true purple, silver foliage and a low dark base.
Sun to bright partial shade; good light strengthens the variegation, but avoid fiercely reflected afternoon heat.
Keep evenly moist while rooting and water deeply in heat, allowing the surface to dry slightly between soakings.
Evergreen, with an RHS H4 hardiness rating; favour a sheltered position and free winter drainage.
Not intended for consumption; milky sap can irritate, so wear gloves when pruning.
Choose a bright sheltered aspect with airflow and a close view of the variegated leaves.
Install wires or mesh before planting and wind young stems loosely, using ties that do not constrict them.
Water regularly through the first growing period and deeply in summer heat, checking that surplus drains quickly.
Use fertile, organic but freely drained soil, from slightly acidic to neutral.
Apply a light balanced feed in spring; excess nitrogen lengthens stems and dilutes the pattern.
After the main flush, remove only wayward tips and redistribute stems over their support.
Protect the root zone from prolonged frost and keep the base drier, especially in an exposed pot.
Wear gloves and clean tools and hands after cutting because stems release white milky sap.
Young leaves open with a pink to reddish flush on the first tied stems.
Centres turn green, cream margins sharpen and side shoots fill the support.
Pink and very pale bicoloured flowers open across the organised evergreen surface.
Mature Trachelospermum asiaticum ‘TRSUZ01’ Star of Milano® arranges numerous slender stems over a support, with cream-edged leaves and flowers at varied heights. Training determines the final outline more than an inherently rigid form.
The drawings connect the first trained stems with mature flowering variegated cover.
What to expect after planting: After planting it first invests in roots and a few leading stems. Spreading those leaders horizontally encourages more side shoots, a denser cream pattern and more flowers at eye level.
‘TRSUZ01’ was bred by Yuji Suzuki of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its history preserves neither its parentage nor whether it arose from a particular cross or sport; the date of first asexual propagation is also unrecorded.
On 8 February 2021 the cultivar entered the European plant-rights process through CPVO application 2021/0386, with ‘TRSUZ01’ as the proposed denomination. The application was withdrawn on 10 July 2023 and did not result in Community Plant Variety Rights.
In August 2021 Marco de Wit entered the selection in the Dutch KVBC trial, where it received a bronze distinction. Plantipp filed the STAR OF MILANO European Union word mark in December 2022 and registration followed on 17 May 2023, after the corresponding UK application in 2022.
Suttons introduced it to the British market as Star of Milano®. In 2024 it was shown at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and shortlisted for Plant of the Year, bringing public attention to its combination of variegated foliage and fragrant pink flowers.
Young stems coil around a slender support; they have neither adhesive pads nor aerial roots with which to attach to a bare wall.
Cream margins contain less chlorophyll than the green centre, so the plant needs good light without scorching exposure.
A tubular corolla opens into five lobes sharing one direction of twist, producing the characteristic rotating outline.
Six specific answers about identity, colour, support, mature size and winter behaviour.
The cultivar denomination is Trachelospermum asiaticum ‘TRSUZ01’; Star of Milano® is its selling name.
Mature leaves have a green centre and cream margin, while new growth or cold can add pink and reddish tones.
They open pink to very pale bicolours, with their characteristic scent and five-lobed pinwheel form.
Yes. Stems twine through wire or mesh but do not self-attach to a bare surface.
Allow about 3m in height and 2m in spread when trained, with natural variation from climate, age and pruning.
It is conservatively placed around RHS H4; a sheltered position and free winter drainage reduce the risk of damage.
