Скачать или смотреть Skimmia japonica, one of the best hardy evergreen plant shrubs for shade in UK and USDA 6, 7, 8 & 9

Skimmia japonica is one of the best evergreen plants for shade, hardy throughout the UK and USDA 6, 7, 8 and 9. Skimmia japonica is a species in the family Rutaceae (to which citrus fruits also belong) and as many species in this family, produces fragrant flowers. It is an evergreen shrub, slow growing, reaching up to 1.5 m tall and wide. The leaves are glossy and leathery, and the foliage very dense, of great ornamental value, as you can see in my shady border that looks very full where my Skimmias are growing. The foliage colour is usually intensely green, however variegated varieties are available e.g. "Magic Marlot". These plants are usually dioecious, that is, they are either male or female, producing either male or female flowers in a single individual, however there are some varieties that are hermaphrodite and produce flowers with both male and female parts. Skimmias bloom in early spring, with white, pink or red buds (depending on the variety) and the flowers are white, quite small but borne in inflorescences made up of several flowers, of great ornamental value especially in the male plants (that have bigger inflorescences than the female or hermaphrodite plants), with a light fragrance of citrus. In female and hermaphrodite plants, if the flowers are successfully pollinated, red fruits develop ripening between late autumn and early winter, at the perfect time to use them as Christmas decorations in the temperate countries of the northern hemisphere, if you like to bring them indoors, or if you prefer to leave the fruits on the plant, they provide a great source of winter colour in the garden, in a season when most plants don't show any flower and often not even any foliage, and the red fruits are kept on the plants for several months, as you can see in the video, with fruits and flowers present at the same time on my Skimmias. These plants are very easy to grow and are hardy down to minus 15 degrees Celsius, from USDA 6 to 9, so hardy throughout the UK and in most countries with temperate climates. They prefer acidic soils but are very adaptable to other types, ideally anyway the soil would need to be moist and well drained, especially when newly planted, but established plants are actually able to tolerate some drought, needing watering only in prolonged arid conditions or very hot temperature. In addition to be plants for gardens, they do great in containers. Skimmias are perfect plants for shade, with ideal position being light shade and partial shade with morning sun, but they can adapt also to full shade; however they don't tolerate well full sun, in which case their leaves often get burnt, especially in summer. As mentioned above, most Skimmia japonica varieties are either male or female, with some being hermaphrodite. Even if hermaphrodite varieties can self-pollinate, the production of the beautiful red fruits will be more abundant in case of cross-pollination (receiving the pollen from other varieties), and the male plants have anyway the most beautiful inflorescences, therefore what I would recommend, as I did in my garden, is to plant Skimmias in groups alternating male and female varieties in close proximity, in order to increase the chance of cross-pollination between different plants and have a wonderful display of both beautiful flowers and bright red fruits. Unfortunately I lost the tags of my Skimmia varieties, however here below is a list of some of the best male, female and hermaphrodite varieties, pretty easy to find both in garden centres and online

Male Skimmia japonica varieties: "Rubella", "Fragrans", "Magic Marlot"

Female Skimmia japonica varieties: "Olympic Flame", "Nymans", "Veitchii"

Hermaphrodite Skimmia japonica varieties: "Redruth", "Temptation", "Obsession", "Reevesiana"

In addition to the most common red-fruited female and hermaphrodite varieties, there are some varieties that produce white fruits, such as "Fructu Albo" and "Kew White"

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