Skimmias have a long season of interest. Skimmias have evergreen, aromatic foliage, pretty flowers in late spring and all through winter they have attractive heads of tightly-closed flower buds and/or cheerful colourful berries.

Choose Skimmias with care as most varieties have either male or female flowers.

• Male plants have flowers only and no berries.
• The beautiful berries form on female plants and only when there is a male plant nearby.
• Some Skimmia varieties have both male and female flowers on the same plant and produce both flowers and berries. These do not require a partner. They are referred to as ‘hermaphrodite’ or ‘self-fertile’.

Male flowers can have a beautiful scent whilst the females have a more delicate fragrance or no fragrance at all.

Skimmia look superb growing alone in pots or accompanied by small plants like trailing Ivy, Gaultheria or small ferns. They will thrive for several years in a pot provided they are fed with a slow-release ericaceous fertiliser in spring. They grow best in a shady spot in Ericaceous compost, ideal for a woodland border.

Male plants (flowers only)

• S. ‘Delight’ (pink flower buds)
• S. ‘Finchy’ (creamy white flowers)
• S. ‘Fragrans’/‘Fragrant Cloud’ (heavily-scented white flowers)
• S. x confusa ‘Kew Green’ (great pollinator)
• S. ‘Magic Marlot’ (variegated leaves, red flower buds)
• S. ‘Rubella’ (red flower buds) (Seen in Header)
• S. ‘White Globe’ (flower buds turn pure white)
• S. ‘Wanto’ (red flower buds)

Female plants (berries, grow with a male nearby)

• S. ‘Kew White’ (white berries)
• S. ‘Nymans’ (red berries)
• S. ‘Olympic Flame’ (red berries)
• S. ‘Pabella’ (stunning, glossy red berries)
• S. ‘Red Diamonds’ (red berries)
• S. ‘Red Riding Hood’ (red berries)
• S. ‘Veitchii’ (syn. S. x foremanii) (red berries)

Hermaphrodite (both flowers and berries on same plant)

• S. ‘Obsession’ (glossy red berries)
• S. reevesiana ‘Godries Dwarf’ (small plant, red berries)
• S. reevesiana ‘Godries Little Ruby’ (small plant, red berries)
• S. ‘Temptation’ (red berries)