Shrub · Rutaceae
Japanese Skimmia
Skimmia japonica
Give it shade and acidic soil, and this evergreen carries fragrant spring flowers and bright winter berries.
Partial shade
Every 5–10 days
USDA 6–8
2–7 ft · 0.6–2.1 m
Overview
Japanese skimmia is a slow-growing evergreen shrub for the shady side of the garden, where most flowering plants sulk. It comes from the woodlands of Japan and China and belongs to the citrus family, which shows in the spicy scent of its spring flowers. Glossy dark leaves carry it through the year, and clusters of red buds keep it interesting even in the cold months.
Most skimmia plants are either male or female, and that one fact shapes everything you do with them. The males put on the showier flower display, while only the females set the bright red berries that hang on through winter. To get fruit you need a male growing within range to pollinate the females, so gardeners usually plant the two together.
It earns its keep with year-round structure and almost no fuss once it's in the right spot. Acidic, moist soil and steady shade are the whole secret. Get those wrong and the leaves yellow or scorch, but get them right and the shrub looks good in every season.
Care
The short version: part to full shade, acidic and humus-rich soil kept evenly moist, and a male plant nearby if you want berries on the females.
Light
Skimmia wants part to full shade and resents direct sun, which scorches the leaves. A spot with dappled light or morning sun and afternoon shade suits it well. Deep shade is fine too, though flowering eases off where it's darkest.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist but well drained, watering roughly every 5 to 10 days and more often in a heat wave. Its water needs sit in the middle, so it doesn't like to bog down. Just don't let the root zone dry out fully when the weather turns hot.
Soil
Plant in moist, humus-rich, acidic ground that still drains freely. Aim for a pH of 5.0 to 6.5, on the acid side, and dig in plenty of organic matter. Alkaline soil locks up iron and turns the leaves yellow.
Temperature
This is a tough shrub that takes the cold, holding up from -9°F (-23°C) at the low end to about 86°F (30°C) at the high. Hot, dry heat stresses it more than frost ever will, which is one more reason to keep it shaded.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity is all it asks, so there's no target to hit. Dry heat is the real enemy, since it stresses the plant and invites spider mites, so steady soil moisture matters more than the air.
Feeding
Feed in spring with a balanced or acid-forming ericaceous fertilizer made for acid-loving shrubs. Once a season is plenty for this slow grower. The acidic feed also helps hold the soil where skimmia likes it.
Pruning
Skimmia needs almost no pruning. Lightly shape it after flowering to take out anything damaged or growing the wrong way. Beyond that, leave it be and let the natural mounded form fill in.
Repotting
A container plant wants moving up every 2 to 3 years into a slightly larger pot of fresh acidic mix. Roots circling the pot or pushing out the drainage holes are your cue, as is soil that dries faster than it used to.
Size & spacing
Expect a mature shrub of 2 to 7 feet (61 to 213 cm) tall, spreading wider than it is high at 3 to 5 feet (91 to 152 cm). Give it that much room so the rounded shape can fill out without crowding its neighbors.
When to plant
Skimmia is hardy and in no hurry. Set new plants out in spring or fall while the soil is workable, look for fragrant flowers from late winter into spring, and watch the red berries ripen on female plants in fall and hold all the way through winter.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Spring or fall
- Harvest: Fragrant flowers late winter to spring (around April); red berries on female plants ripen in fall and persist through winter
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 6–8
Temperature: down to -23°C
Troubleshooting
Skimmia stays healthy when its roots sit in acidic, shaded soil, so most trouble traces back to the wrong site or a sap-sucking pest. Read the leaves and they'll tell you which. Match what you see below, then fix the cause rather than the symptom.
Yellow leaves with veins that stay green
When the leaf turns yellow but the veins hold their color, you're looking at interveinal chlorosis, and the usual cause is soil that runs too alkaline for the roots to pull up iron. Poor drainage makes it worse. Bring the pH down with elemental sulfur, feed chelated iron, and mulch with acidic matter to set it right.
Fix:
- Lower soil pH with elemental sulfur or acidifying amendments
- Apply chelated iron and mulch with acidic organic matter
- Improve drainage
Fine speckling and faint webbing on the leaves
A bronze, stippled cast across the foliage with thin webbing on the undersides points to spider mites, which flare up in hot, dry spells. Blast the leaves with water to knock them loose, then follow with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Keeping the plant watered and out of harsh sun stops them coming back.
Fix:
- Spray foliage with water to dislodge mites
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Improve air humidity and avoid drought stress
Sticky leaves, stem bumps, and black sooty mold
Sticky honeydew and a film of black sooty mold mean a sap-sucking pest is at work, usually scale showing up as raised waxy bumps or aphids clustered on soft new growth. Cut out badly infested stems first. Smother scale with horticultural oil and clear aphids with insecticidal soap.
Fix:
- Prune out heavily infested stems
- Apply horticultural oil to smother scale
- Use insecticidal soap for aphids
Browned or bleached patches on sun-facing leaves
Skimmia is a shade plant, so leaves that brown or bleach are almost always taking too much direct sun. The damage shows up on the exposed side while shaded foliage stays green. Move the plant somewhere shadier, or give it morning sun with afternoon shade, and mulch to ease the stress.
Fix:
- Provide part to full shade or morning sun with afternoon shade
- Transplant to a shadier site if needed
- Mulch and water to reduce stress
Toxicity
Treat this shrub as poisonous. The leaves and the bright red berries hold alkaloids called skimmianine along with glycosides, and the berries are the real danger because they look so tempting. Swallowing them brings on vomiting and drooling, and a large amount can reach the heart and nerves, so keep the fruit away from children, pets, and grazing animals alike.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Toxic
The leaves and berries carry skimmianine, so a cat that nibbles them tends to drool and vomit. A big enough mouthful can push into a racing or unsteady heartbeat.
Dogs Toxic
Drooling and vomiting follow soon after a dog chews the foliage or the red berries. Eat enough and the alkaloids start to disturb the heart and nerves.
Horses Toxic
Grazing on the leaves or fruit leaves a horse drooling, off its feed, and queasy, with heart and nervous trouble where a large amount goes down.
Rabbits Toxic
These alkaloids are not safe for a small grazer. Even a little of the leaf or berry can bring on drooling and a churning gut, so keep skimmia out of reach.
Livestock Toxic
Cattle, sheep, and goats react badly to the foliage and berries, with salivation and digestive upset that can tip into heart and nervous effects after a heavy feed.
Birds Toxic
The berries look like an easy meal but the skimmianine in them is poisonous. Birds that swallow the fruit can sicken, so it's best treated as off limits.
People Caution
No part of the plant is food, and the showy red berries are the real hazard for a curious child. Swallowing them brings on nausea and an upset stomach, with heart effects possible after a large amount.
Keep berries away from children and pets; wash hands after handling.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
A few named skimmias turn up again and again, and choosing well comes down to whether you want flowers, berries, or both. These are the ones worth knowing.
Rubella
A male clone grown for its dark red flower buds that hold all winter and open to fragrant white flowers, though it sets no berries of its own.
Nymans
A female cultivar that carries heavy crops of large, bright red berries when a male grows nearby to pollinate it.
Fragrans
A male cultivar prized for the strong scent of its white flower panicles in spring.
Companions
Skimmia thrives next to other shade-loving, acid-soil plants that ask for the same conditions, which makes it an easy fit in a woodland border.
Plant near
Rhododendron: Shares the same acidic soil and part-shade conditions.
Camellia: Both are shade-tolerant broadleaf evergreens that thrive in acidic, moist, well-drained soil.
Hosta: Pairs well as a shade-garden understory companion with similar moisture needs.
How to propagate
You can raise more skimmia from cuttings or seed, but cuttings are the route most gardeners take since they keep the parent's traits and, crucially, its sex.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Late summer to fall · Several weeks to a few months to root
Cuttings are the dependable route. Take semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer or fall and root them under humidity, where they settle in over several weeks to a few months. Because the clone carries the parent's sex, remember you still need both a male and a female plant nearby for berries.
SeedModerate
Fall, from ripe berries · Germination can be slow and seedlings take years to mature
You can sow seed cleaned from ripe berries in fall, but it asks for patience. Germination drags, the seedlings take years to reach flowering size, and the plants come up variable, so you won't know whether a seedling is male or female until it finally blooms.
Myths
Any single skimmia plant will reliably set red berries.
Skimmia is mostly dioecious, meaning plants come as separate males and females, and only the females bear fruit. You need a male growing nearby to pollinate them, with about one male serving six females for a good crop, so a lone plant or a male on its own gives you no berries at all.