Male Skimmia (Skimmia japonica) - white flowers, illustrated plant cardIllustration

Male Skimmia

Skimmia japonica

Also comes in pink.

Male Skimmia blooms from April through April.

Bloom calendar
Bloom time
Apr
checked
Hardiness
Zones 7–8
checked
Sun
Part shade
checked
Water
Moderate water
checked
Mature size
3.5 ft × 3.5 ft
checked
Type
Shrub
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Male Skimmia

Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 7–8. Expect it to reach about 3.5 ft tall and 3.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 4 years (a house reading).

Pets

Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.

Verification
What was checked

Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.

See the 8 sources it was checked against

When to plant Male Skimmia

Plant Male Skimmia in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 7, the middle of its hardy zones 7 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means September or October. Once settled, it blooms in April.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 7, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 7 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Male Skimmia get?

Illustration of Male Skimmia drawn to scale beside an adult3.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult3.5 ftwide
About 3.5 ft tall and 3.5 ft wide at maturity: waist-high beside an adult.

See Male Skimmia in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

How far apart to plant Male Skimmia

Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.

Space Male Skimmia about 3.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.

Plant them
3.5 ft apart
Per 10 sq ft
one needs about 12 sq ft
4 by 8 ft bed
about 2

Add Male Skimmia to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.

Where these facts come from

Male Skimmia's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 8 published sources on October 19, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.

  • Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • NC State Extensionheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • Plant Addictsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • Pleasant Run Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • westonfarmtodoor.comWeston Nurseries (NetPS Plant Finder text)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and bloom months and color
  • pridescorner.comPrides Corner Farmsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
  • Oregon State Universityheight, hardiness zones and water
  • RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight and water

How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.

Explore similar plants

You might also like

Design a garden with this

Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.

Design a garden with this →