Skimmia
Skimmia japonica
As easy as shade shrubs get, provided it gets rainwater where the tap water runs hard and is never left to dry out.
Spacing & sowing
- Plant spacing
- 3 ft 11 in
- In-row spacing
- 3 ft 11 in
- Between rows
- 4 ft 11 in
- Square-foot density
- Not suited to SFG
Growing
- Type
- Shrub · Perennial
- Botanical family
- Mixed / other
- Sunlight
- Partial to full shade — among the better shrubs for a shady bed.
- Watering
- Keep it moist, using rainwater where the tap water is hard.
- Feeding
- An ericaceous feed in spring, with a bark mulch.
- Frost tolerant
- Yes
- Flowering
- April
- Pruning
- Rarely needed; a light shaping after flowering is enough.
Through the year
- Mar–Apr Spring Growth
- Apr–Aug Flowering
- Aug–Dec Growing
- Jan–Mar Growing
Companions
Camellia, Sarcococca, Hellebores, Ferns
Pests & problems
- Scale insects Immobile brown or white bumps fixed to stems and leaf undersides, sucking sap and weakening growth. Wipe off with a damp cloth or dab with horticultural soap; watch for the sooty mold that follows.
- Phytophthora root and foot rot A waterborne rot of woody plants that kills from the roots up: the whole plant fades and wilts, and the bark at the base is stained rusty-brown beneath.
Garden allies
Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. companion plant
- Hoverfly SyrphidaeHunts Scale insects
Bee-mimicking flies whose legless larvae graze aphid colonies clean while the adults pollinate. A ribbon of shallow, nectar-rich flowers kept in bloom all season recruits wave after wave of them.
- Ladybird (lady beetle) CoccinellidaeHunts Scale insects
The gardener’s favorite ally: adults and their alligator-shaped larvae each eat thousands of aphids, plus scale, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied sap-suckers. Grow flat, open flowers for the adults and never spray a colony that ladybird larvae are already working.
The Cottage Garden Companion — the gardener's herbarium at cottagegardencompanion.com