How to grow skimmias

Choosing skimmias

Skimmias are one of the best low-maintenance, slow-growing, hardy evergreen shrubs for shadier borders. They are also a good choice for container planting in north-facing situations. Smaller plants are useful for window boxes or hanging baskets in winter. There are female forms with berries and male forms with flowers to choose from.

Flowers and berries

• Skimmias brighten up shady borders in spring with their often-fragrant, small, creamy white or greenish flowers
• Some male cultivars are particularly noted for their fragrance, such as Skimmia japonica 'Fragrans' and Skimmia × confusa 'Kew Green'
• Female plants carry red, sometimes black or white, berries that are particularly popular for autumn and winter displays
• Female plants need a male plant growing nearby to set berries. However, Skimmia japonica subsp. reeversiana will produce berries on its own as it's a hermaphrodite
• One male plant can pollinate several female plants
• The plant label should indicate if you are buying male or female plant or if the plant will set berries on its own (hermaphrodite)

Eventual size and shape

• Skimmias are slow-growing, rounded shrubs usually not exceeding 1.5m (5ft) in height and spread
• More compact cultivars grow 40-70cm (16-28in) in height and spread and are better suited for growing in containers
• Check the eventual height of the skimmias you are buying to make sure it is suitable for the planting spot

Buying skimmias

Though skimmias are available for sale as pot grown plants all year round, you will usually get the best choice in the autumn when the berries are produced. Small 'starter' plants in 9-12cm (3½-4in) pots are offered for sale for planting in winter containers and baskets in autumn.

Buying: trees and shrubs

RHS guide to choosing healthy plants

Wakehurst Place in West Sussex holds the National Collection of Skimmia.

Browse the RHS Find a Plant for the nearest stockists

When to plant

• Container-grown skimmias can be planted at any time of year
• Autumn and spring planting is best for good establishment as the soil is moist
• If you buy a container-grown plant during the summer, plant it as soon as possible and water it regularly
• As long as the soil is not too wet or frozen you can plant in the winter if necessary

Where to plant

• Choose a position in partial to deeper shade
• Plant in a sunnier spot only if the soil is not excessively dry, Skimmia × confusa 'Kew Green' tolerates full sun
• Avoid planting in areas that are prone to staying wet
• Alternatively plant in a container

How to plant skimmias

Our guide below takes you step-by-step through planting your skimmias.

RHS guide to planting trees and shrubs

Growing skimmias in containers

• Plant in a container only 2.5-5cm (1-2in) larger all the way round than its original pot. Use a peat-free multi-purpose compost
  

  Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost:

  
  • Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own.

  with added John Innes or a 50:50 mix of peat-free John Innes No. 3 and peat-free multi-purpose compost
• After two to three years, the roots will fill the container and it will benefit from re-potting in spring

Containers: winter selection

Container maintenance

Watering

• Water newly-planted skimmias during dry spells in spring and summer, for the first couple of years, until their roots are well-established
• Once established, they are fairly drought tolerant and should’t need regular watering
• However, if growing on
  

  Transferring young plants from one container to a slightly larger one, where they will have more room to grow and fresh potting compost. This encourages continuous, healthy growth.

  very dry soils or planted in too much sun, they may need some additional water to prevent yellowing of the leaves support healthy growth

Feeding and mulching

• Established skimmias planted in borders need little or no regular feeding in most garden soils
• However, if your soil is poor or the shrub is struggling, feed in spring using a general fertiliser such as Vitax Q4, Growmore or fish, blood and bone at according to the manufacturer’s instructions
• Mulch
  

  Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings.

  with a 5cm (2in) layer of bulky organic matter, such as home-made compost
  

  Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost:

  
  • Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own.

  or manure-based soil conditioner, to reduce moisture stress
• Leave a mulch-free circle immediately around the base of the plant to prevent rot

Mulches and mulching

• Minimal pruning is needed as skimmias have a a naturally tidy and compact growing habit
• Occasionally vigorous shoots can sometimes spoil the shape and these can be pruned back to within the shrub canopy to hide the pruning cuts in spring

Renovation

• Attempts to renovate older plants are seldom successful and such shrubs are best replaced
• If you would like to attempt renovation, prune hard back in spring, but bear in mind that the response to hard pruning is often poor
• Try to encourage new growth by application of general fertiliser as Vitax Q4, Growmore or fish, blood and bone at according to the manufacturer’s instructions around the shrub base.

Propagating from cuttings

Skimmias can be propagated from softwood or semi-ripe cuttings

Semi ripe cuttings are taken from summer to mid-autumn (Jul-Sep) from healthy stems grown this season. The base of the cutting is firm, while the tip is still soft. Use for climbers, herbs, evergreen shrubs, conifers and hedging plants.

taken from mid summer to autumn. Alternatively try hardwood cuttings

Hardwood cuttings are taken from mid-autumn until late winter from vigorous healthy shoots of the current year's growth - this will be woody but pliable. Use for deciduous climbers, shrubs, trees (including fruit) and some evergreens such as hollies.

from late autumn to late winter.

Cuttings: semi-ripe

Cuttings: hardwood

Cuttings: softwood

Propagating by seed

If you would like a bit of a challenge, you can try growing Skimmia from seed.

• Collect the ripe berries in the autumn, extract the seed
• Sow the seeds straight away in pots or trays and keep outdoors in a cold frame
  

  Cold frames are glaze box-like structures made from brick or wood with a  hinged or removable, glazed, sloping lid. Useful to protect plants from cold weather over winter or acclimatise (harden off) young plants in spring and provide extra warmth for tender crops in summer.

  or similar to expose the seeds to winter chilling that helps to break seed dormancy
  

  Dormancy refers to a period of inactivity in plants, during which they slow down or stop their growth, conserving energy and resources. This is a natural process that helps them survive harsh conditions, such as winter or drought. Dormancy in seeds is a mechanism that prevents them germinating until environmental conditions are favourable for growth.

• If growing a named cultivar
  

  Gardeners often use the word variety when referring to a specific plant, but the correct botanical term is 'cultivar'. Whichever word you use, it means a distinctive plant or plants, given a specific cultivar name and usually bred to enhance certain characteristics, such as flower or fruit size, colour, flavour or fragrance, plant size, hardiness, disease resistance, etc. Additionally, it is worth knowing that, botanically, variety has another meaning - it refers to a naturally-occurring distinct plant that only has slight differences in its looks. For example, Malva alcea var. fastigiata differs from typical plants by having an upright habit.

  the seed grown plants will be different from the parent plant

Trees and shrubs from seed

Skimmias are generally trouble free, but yellowing of the leaves and horse chestnut scale may be a problem.

In late-spring or early-summer, you may notice white deposits on the leaves and stems which are the egg masses of horse chestnut scale.

Horse chestnut scale

Yellowing of the leaves is usually caused by overexposure to sun or by being grown on very dry, poor and shallow soils. Try feeding with a general granular fertiliser, mulching and watering in dry spells to encourage healthy growth. If planted in too much sun, consider moving the shrub in spring or autumn to a better spot.

This problem is often mistaken for chlorosis, which is due to lack of iron (lime induced chlorosis) and a common problem when acid-loving ( ericaceous

Plants that thrive in acid or ericaceous soil, which has a pH of less than 7 (neutral). You can measure your soil pH using a simple testing kit. Ericaceous or acid-loving plants include rhododendrons, camellias, heathers and blueberries.

) plants such as camellias and rhododendrons are planted in limy, alkaline soils. Skimmias are not acid-loving plants and an application of iron treatments, such as Sequestrene, is unlikely to help.

Tree and shrubs: moving plants