We think our female Skimmia clone is, more than likely, a dwarf selection, as it has never exceeded 24ö in height, while remaining dense and handsome. Because it grows side by side with a male suitor, it sets astoundingly good, brilliant red fruit. This is held for an enormously long time throughout winter, spring, and even summer, when even I get a bit tired of its sickeningly sweet and cheery disposition. Plant in bright shade in well-drained, but humusy, acidic soil. Overhead watering will diminish its propensity to suffer from spider mites.

The male Skimmia is mostly grown as a pollinator, of course, however we find it to be vastly deserving of integration into the border for both its visual effects of flower as well as its fragrance, which is enchanting. Terminal panicles of creamy white flowers open from red buds in late winter, atop stems rising to 4 ft. or more. Indeed, the pollen of this will induce large crops of red fruit on nearby female plants of Skimmia.