Skimmia Japonica

Dave Humby

Please excuse my ignorance but should my Skimmia have flower heads on at this time of year? I only asked as I popped into the local garden centre today and noticed there's were all in bud or at least the stems were in-situ.

Here is mine which I planted last year (I think!). It's in a very shady location.

It looks otherwise healthy. Thanks! 

Kitty 2

Mine is full of tiny pink buds Dave, but also has signs of slug damage on some stems where they've been chomped off. 

Dave Humby

Thanks Kitty. I had it in my mind that this shrub should give me some winter colour so I wonder what's happened? The stems where I would expect to see the tiny buds are brown, dry and dead looking. It was in bud / flower when I planted it but don't recall seeing them reappear since.

 

Dilly3

Mine is also covered in buds, it has one of the most loveliest perfumes in the garden, ours  is by the front door and faces north so doesn't get hardly any sun. 

What are those long stems on the plant? I've never seen those on my plant.

Dave Humby

Now you're all making me jealous! The 'long stems' are what / where I believe the buds should be but as I say they are basically 'dead'. The rest of the plant looks in rude health - to my untrained novice eye.

Hortum-cretae

I think it got dry and the buds failed. Those certainly are flower stems. Shady's good, drought aint. Could that have been possible? 

H-C

Dave Humby

Thanks H-C. Yes, quite possible, it's a relatively dry bed there. When would have been the time of the year that this happened do you think? Be good if I can keep an eye on it for the future and try and prevent that happening. I looked at the label earlier (still attached) and it's a Rubella which I think is one of the most common variety. With the lovely deep red blooms....or maybe not 

HumbleBee

Ha - that looks familiar! So I planted 2 of these last year for a bit of winter colour. Right now, one of the shrubs has lots of red buds all over, but the other only has 2 measly buds on it even though it looks very healthy otherwise. Both were planted in the same area of dry shade, but the one that is happily budding has definitely had more water (my hose only reaches the first plant so the second one had to rely on lugging watering cans back and forth - which ehm...I sometimes forgot... )
So I think H-C's comment above about drought could very well be the reason why you have no buds - I think it must be why mine failed. I am definitely going to be more diligent now about watering (maybe it's time for me to get a longer hose...!)