Shrub
How to grow skimmia
Skimmia japonica
Plant skimmia in September and October or in March and April, in part or full shade and humus-rich soil that stays moist but never waterlogged. It does not need acid soil or ericaceous compost; full sun and dry, poor soil are what turn the leaves yellow. For red berries you need a female plant with a male within a few metres, or a self-fertile form. It is fully hardy, slow, and needs very little pruning or feeding.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
- Position
- Part to full shade
- Soil
- Humus-rich, moisture-retentive, well-drained
- Ideal pH
- 5.5 to 6.5
- Water
- Moderate, keep moist in shade
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting skimmia
WhenPlant Sep to Oct or Mar to Apr; flowers Mar to Apr; berries Oct to Mar on female plants
Starting off
Plant pot-grown stock Sep to Oct or Mar to Apr in shade; the leaves bleach and yellow in full sun. Propagate by 8 to 10 cm semi-ripe cuttings in Aug to Sep in gritty peat-free compost at 15 to 18°C, rooting in 8 to 12 weeks. Berries sown fresh in Oct in a cold frame germinate the following spring but seedlings are of unknown sex for 4 to 5 years.
Spacing and planting
Most S. japonica cultivars spread 1 to 1.5 m by 1 to 1.5 m in 10 years; 'Rubella' stays at 1 m. Plant 1 m apart, one male ('Rubella', 'Fragrans') within 5 m of every 3 to 4 females ('Nymans', 'Veitchii'), or use self-fertile S. japonica subsp. reevesiana. Set the rootball level with the surface in humus-rich soil. Excellent in a 35 to 45 cm pot of loam-based compost in a shady spot.
Varieties worth growing
- S. japonica 'Rubella'
- Male. Dark red flower buds held all winter, opening to scented white flowers in March and April. The most widely planted skimmia and a good pollinator, but it never berries.
- S. × confusa 'Kew Green'
- Male. Large cones of green-cream buds and strongly scented flowers on a broad, low bush; copes with more light than most without bleaching.
- S. japonica 'Fragrans'
- Male. Grown for the lily-of-the-valley scent of its dense white flower heads in spring; a free-flowering pollinator for any female.
- S. japonica 'Nymans'
- Female. The best for berries: large, bright red fruit in big clusters from October to March, provided a male is nearby.
- S. japonica subsp. reevesiana
- Self-fertile, so one plant berries on its own. Low and compact with long-lasting crimson berries. It is the one skimmia usually said to dislike shallow chalk.
Skimmia month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Berries on females and red buds on males. Nothing to do.
- February
Nothing to do. Check pots are not waterlogged.
- March
Flowers open. Plant. Light feed, then a 5 cm leaf-mould mulch.
- April
In flower. Plant. After flowering, snip off spent heads on males and shorten straggly shoots to a leaf. Vine weevil nematodes on pots.
- May
Water spring-planted shrubs weekly in dry spells.
- June
Keep moist. Water pots regularly.
- July
Water in dry weather; shade does not mean damp under trees.
- August
Semi-ripe cuttings. Vine weevil nematodes on pots at the end of the month.
- September
Plant while the soil is warm. Semi-ripe cuttings.
- October
Plant. Berries colour on females. Sow fresh seed in a cold frame.
- November
New flower buds are set and showing. Do not prune.
- December
At its best in pots by the door. Nothing to do.
Feeding skimmia
A light feeder. A small balanced feed in March and a leaf-mould mulch are enough; in good woodland-type soil the mulch alone will do. Yellow leaves are far more often sun or dry, poor soil than hunger, so correct the site before reaching for fertiliser.
Low, a light feed; mulch if leaves yellow.
Feeding plan
At planting, autumn or spring
5 g per litre of root ball, dusted onto the roots or the sides of the hole so it touches them: 15 g for a 3 litre pot. Once.
March, plants in the ground
50 g/m², half the label rate of 100 g/m²: a handful under each plant, watered in, followed by a 5 cm mulch of leaf mould or composted bark.
March, pots
2 g per litre of compost, the bottom of the label range, on the surface and watered in: about 50 g for a 40 cm pot holding roughly 25 litres. Once.
April to June, a plant that is pale after winter
1 g per litre of water as a drench or leaf spray, every 2 to 3 weeks.
Autumn or early spring, rarely needed: only where a test shows pH well above 7 and leaves stay yellow in shade and moist soil
To lower pH by one unit: 55 g/m² on sand, 110 g/m² on loam in two doses six months apart, 175 g/m² on clay in three doses. Never more than 80 g/m² at once.
Skimmia is not an acid-lover and does not need an ericaceous feed or compost (it is in the citrus family, not the heather family), so the plan uses the All Purpose 4-4-4 at half rate. Sulphur Soil Acidifier is kept only for the rare case where a pH test shows strongly alkaline soil and the leaves stay yellow in shade and moist soil.
Signs to watch
Pale yellow leaves overall, worst in full sun
Sun bleaching or dry, poor soil, both common
Move to shade, mulch and give a light balanced feed in Mar
Yellow between the veins on older leaves on chalk
Magnesium short
Epsom salts drench at 20 g per litre
No berries on a leafy female
No male within bee-flight range, or flowers frosted in Mar
Plant a male nearby
Pests, diseases and problems
Notches eaten from leaf edges; a potted plant wilts and comes loose in the compost
Vine weevil: adults notch the leaves, the white grubs eat the roots from late summer to spring
Water nematodes into pots in late August or September and again in April, when the compost is above 5°C. Pick adults off by torchlight on summer nights.
Small brown or white bumps on stems and leaf undersides, with sticky leaves and black mould
Scale insects sucking sap and dropping honeydew
Rub off light infestations with a damp cloth, prune out badly covered shoots after flowering, and wipe the sooty mould away with water.
Leaves dull, then yellow and drooping; the whole plant declines and dies
Phytophthora root rot in waterlogged soil or an undrained pot
There is no cure. Remove the plant and the soil round the roots, improve drainage, and replant elsewhere. Moist is right for skimmia; standing wet is fatal.
Leaves bleached pale yellow on the sunny side of the plant
Too much direct sun, especially with dry roots
Move the plant to shade between October and March, or plant something taller to the south of it. New leaves come through dark green.
Brown, dry leaf edges on a plant in a pot
The compost drying out in summer, or exposure to drying winter wind
Water whenever the surface is dry, mulch the pot with composted bark, and stand it out of the wind against a north or east-facing wall.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Needs almost no pruning: in Apr after flowering, snip off spent flowerheads on males and any straggly shoots, cutting to a leaf. Berries on females hold Oct to Mar and are not removed. Hard renovation is seldom successful, so replace a badly overgrown plant. Mulch 5 cm with leaf mould each spring and water pots with rainwater; no staking or winter protection, as it is hardy to −15°C.
Good to knowNeed a male plant to pollinate females for berries; a good shade evergreen.
Growing skimmia in pots
Skimmia is one of the best evergreen shrubs for a shady pot. Use a 35 to 45 cm container of loam-based compost mixed with peat-free multipurpose compost, with drainage holes clear and the pot on feet; ericaceous compost is not needed. Keep it out of midday sun and water regularly. It must never dry out and must never sit in a saucer of water. Feed once in March, replace the top 5 cm of compost each spring and repot every three or four years. Plants sold in berry at Christmas are females: keep one going for future years by standing a male such as 'Rubella' beside it. Treat pots for vine weevil every late summer.
Skimmia: common questions
Why does my skimmia have no berries?
Either it is a male plant, or it is a female with no male nearby to pollinate it. Most skimmias are one sex or the other: 'Rubella', 'Kew Green' and 'Fragrans' are males and never berry, while females such as 'Nymans' need a male within about 5 m. Plant one male to every three or four females, or grow the self-fertile subsp. reevesiana.
Why are my skimmia leaves turning yellow?
Too much sun or dry, poor soil are the usual causes. Skimmia is a woodland shrub: its leaves bleach in direct sun and turn pale when the roots are dry or starved. It is not an acid-lover, so ericaceous feed is not the cure. Move it to shade in autumn or spring, mulch with leaf mould or compost every year, and water in dry spells.
Does skimmia need pruning?
No, not routinely. It grows slowly into a neat dome on its own. After flowering in April you can snip off spent flower heads on male plants and shorten any shoot that spoils the shape, cutting to a leaf. Do not prune in autumn or winter, because the flower buds for next spring are already formed.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.
- How to grow skimmiasRHS
- How to grow skimmiaBBC Gardeners' World Magazine