Pick a sparkling skimmia
With their buds, flowers and berries, these shining evergreens are a winter joy, says Val Bourne
With their buds, flowers and berries, these shining evergreens are a winter joy
Evergreens come into their own in midwinter. Their glossy foliage really stands out once the summer froth is cut back, or disappears underground. Slow-growing and compact, skimmias are one of the best evergreen shrubs, ideal for smaller gardens and containers. They also tolerate light shade, so thrive in north-facing positions as long as they get some sunlight during the day. Mixed with hardy ferns and ivies, they create a green tapestry and shine all winter, producing berries or colourful buds.
Plants are dioecious, which means that they’re either male or female, bearing separate flowers on separate plants. Pollen has to be passed from male to female flower by nectar-seeking bees, before the females can produce their festive berries. This cross-pollination process encourages greater diversity so there are many named forms and one or two excellent hybrids as well. Skimmias can also produce variegated sports – shoots that vary from the main plant. They’re easily raised from cuttings so you’ll find them in many a garden centre.
Skimmia japonica, native to Japan, China and southeast Asia, is most widely grown and very hardy. S. japonica reevesiana, introduced from southern China in 1849, produces lots of bright red berries in autumn, which birds don’t tend to eat, so they persist into winter, adding a festive touch to containers. It’s able to produce berries on its own and is far more tolerant of limy soil, unlike most skimmias, which prefer slightly acidic soil. Some, such as ‘Wakehurst White’, produce white berries instead of red ones.
Recent introductions include ‘Red Riding Hood’, ‘Obsession’ and ‘Temptation’. These are female plants that produce dense, dome-shaped mounds of green foliage topped by tight clusters of red berries when you see them on sale. Just remember they’ll need a male partner to produce berries in subsequent years. ‘Rubella’ or newer ‘Red Dwarf’, with cones of red buds and flowers in midwinter, are excellent pollen-bearing male partners. Skimmias are also grown for their conical heads of early spring flowers, which are attractive in bud long before the f lowers finally open in March. The clusters of buds emerge in early autumn, just above the leathery green foliage. The reddest f lower buds belong to ‘Red Dwarf’, a recent Dutch-bred skimmia that only reaches H60-90cm (2-3ft) and is best in a container. Red-budded forms need dappled shade: they tend to scorch in full sun.
Some skimmias are grown for their pale, fragrant March and April flowers, rather than colourful berries. These produce a lily-of-the-valley scent and ‘Fragrans’ has an Award of Merit (AGM) from the RHS. The female ‘Nymans’ produces fuller heads of March flowers, followed by red berries in autumn. Male ‘Fragrant Cloud’ reputedly has the best scent, but insists on acidic soil.
‘Kew Green’ is a male hybrid with conical heads of green buds that open to cream flowers in spring with slightly aromatic foliage. Among the variegated skimmias on offer, with paler edges to their green leaves are male cultivars ‘Mystic Marlot’ (green and cream foliage, dark almost maroon flower buds), ‘Magic Marlot’ (yellow and green leaves, pinker buds and fragrant white flowers ) and ‘Perosa’ (mottled sage-green leaves finely edged in yellow), which is ideal for a part-shady corner. ✿
Pollen has to be passed from male to female flower, before females produce their berries