Ornamentalshrub ornamentalSome care needed

Skimmia

Skimmia japonica

A neat dome-shaped evergreen sold everywhere in autumn for its red buds and berries, and very often sold in a way that guarantees no berries at all. Most skimmias are either male or female: the berries come only on a female plant, and only if a male is somewhere nearby.

Position: Partial shade or Dappled shade or Full shade
Water: moderate demand
Drainage: Moisture-retentive
Grows to: 80–150 cm × 80–150 cm
Hardiness: H5
Flowers: March and April
Difficulty: Some care needed

Described view

A male skimmia in bud beside a berried female plant, the flower structures shown close up

August

Nothing to do

No sowing, planting, harvesting or pruning window falls in August.

Coming next month: plant.

Skimmia’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

Activity	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Plant			March.	April.					September.	October.
In flower			March.	April.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

Conditions it needs

Light: Partial shade, Dappled shade, Full shade
Frost: Very hardy
Hardiness rating: H5 (RHS)
Grows best at: 8–22 °C
Soil: Loam, Peat-free compost
Soil pH: 5–6.5
Drainage: Moisture-retentive
Water needs: moderate
Drought: poor tolerance
Waterlogging: poor tolerance
Heat: poor tolerance
Wind and exposure: moderate tolerance

Where these figures come from

LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia — position

Checked 2026-08-13

FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia — hardiness

Checked 2026-08-13

Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings

Checked 2026-08-13

Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia — temperature

Checked 2026-08-13

SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Skimmia japonica — culture

Checked 2026-08-13

DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

Foliage yellows badly in full sun.

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

Soil	Verdict	Why
Heavy clay	Works, with one condition	Skimmia will crop on heavy clay, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Sandy	Works, with one condition	Skimmia will crop on sandy, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
Chalky and alkaline	Struggles here	Skimmia struggles on chalky and alkaline: The soil is substantially too alkaline for it: it wants pH 5 to 6.5, and this soil sits around 7.8 to 8.5. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering. A container or a raised bed of imported soil sidesteps the problem entirely.
Loam	Grows well here	Skimmia grows perfectly well on loam without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Silty	Grows well here	Skimmia grows perfectly well on silty without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Peaty and acid	Works, with one condition	Skimmia will crop on peaty and acid, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Shallow over rock	Works, with one condition	Skimmia will crop on shallow over rock, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
Made ground and urban soil	Struggles here	Skimmia struggles on made ground and urban soil: The soil is substantially too alkaline for it: it wants pH 5 to 6.5, and this soil sits around 7.2 to 7.8. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold. A container or a raised bed of imported soil sidesteps the problem entirely.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height: 80–150 cm
Mature spread: 80–150 cm
Rooting depth: 40 cm
Spacing: 75–100 cm apart

Where these figures come from

Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia — spacing
Checked 2026-08-13

Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

Habit and ultimate size

What the plant becomes, rather than what it is when you buy it. The gap between the two is where most planting mistakes live.

Foliage: Evergreen
In a container: Good in a container long-term

Where these figures come from

FoliageSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia japonica — foliage
Checked 2026-08-13
In a containerHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

Growth rate: Slow — under about 30 cm a year
Ultimate height: 80–150 cm
Ultimate spread: 80–150 cm
Time to reach it: 10–15 yearsSourced guidance

Where these figures come from

Growth rateSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia japonica — growth rate
Checked 2026-08-13
Ultimate heightSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia japonica — ultimate height
Checked 2026-08-13
Ultimate spreadSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia japonica — ultimate spread
Checked 2026-08-13
Time to reach itSourced guidancelow confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia japonica — time to ultimate size
Checked 2026-08-13

Cutting it back. Naturally forms a tight dome and needs no pruning. It does not respond well to being cut back hard, so a plant that has outgrown its space is better replaced than reduced.

source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

Method	Suitability	What it needs
Open ground	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Traditional dug bed	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Raised bed	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Container	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

PollinationBuy a named female form for berries and make sure a male is within a few metres — one male pollinates several females. 'Rubella', the one most widely sold for its red winter buds, is MALE and will never carry a berry, which accounts for most of the disappointment this plant causes. S. japonica subsp. reevesiana is the exception: it is self-fertile and needs no partner.
FeedingYellowing leaves with green veins mean lime-induced chlorosis rather than hunger. Skimmia wants acid to neutral soil, and on chalk the answer is a container of ericaceous compost rather than an attempt to treat the bed, which reverts within a season.

Where this guidance comes from

PollinationSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia japonica — pollination
Checked 2026-08-13
FeedingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Skimmia — chlorosis
Checked 2026-08-13

Sources for this page

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.

If something is wrong with it

Lower leaves turning yellow — 2 causes GrowingHQ holds for skimmia

Something else? Work through it with the diagnostic tool.