The skimmy forms compact bushes with stiff foliage and beautiful inflorescences, which over time are replaced by clusters of red berries. This beautiful flower all year resembles an exotic bouquet, so it will be a worthy gift for inveterate gardeners. A beautiful plant belongs to the Rutov family. It is found at the foot of the Himalayas, in Japan and other countries of East Asia.
Plant description
Skimmy is an evergreen rhizome perennial with branched, gradually lignified roots. They carry a spreading spherical crown with a diameter of 50-100 cm. Elastic, branching shoots are covered with a smooth light brown bark.
The leaves are arranged on the branches again and are attached to them with short petioles. Rigid dark green foliage resembles 5-20 cm long laurel leaves. A light or reddish narrow strip usually passes along the lateral edge of the leaf.
Skimmy is a dioecious plant; exclusively male and female specimens are found in the genus. Small white, beige or purple flowers are collected in dense panicle inflorescences at the ends of branches. The diameter of the flower is 1-2 cm. The flowers have the shape of a five-pointed star with anthers protruding from the center. The skimmy blooms from March to June. Only adults bloom, as well as strong bushes. Flowering is accompanied by an intense pleasant aroma. Small glands exude it on the back of the leaves.
After flowering, large clusters of red berries remain on the branches. They do not fall from the branches for a very long time and give the bush a charming look. Sometimes ripe berries with young flowers are found on the bush at the same time. Rounded drupes are edible, but they are not of nutritional value.
Skimmy Types
The genus of skimmies has 12 species; we will dwell on the most popular of them.
Japanese skimmy. The plant forms a large bush up to 1.5 m high. It is most popular in the culture, it is not surprising that the main hybrids and decorative varieties are derived on its basis. Shoots branch from the base and are covered with stiff dark green foliage. Almost every branch is crowned with a dense inflorescence, which opens in March-April. By September, the bush is decorated with scarlet round berries. The plant has several decorative varieties:
- Skimmy Rubella - a compact male hybrid with dark green foliage fringed with red stripes;
- Skimmya Fragrans is a male variety with bright green leaves and white inflorescences with lily of the valley aroma;
- Skimmy Magic Merlot - bush covered with small leaves with a thick silver pattern and silver balls of inflorescences;
- Skimmy Reeves - polygamous variety with reddish foliage and purple inflorescences;
- Skimmy Naimans is a female plant up to 90 cm tall with less fragrant white inflorescences.
Skimmy laurel. The plant forms a rounded shrub up to 90 cm high. The leaves on it are more elongated, lanceolate. Small flowers are collected in spherical inflorescences of a white-green hue. Berries are painted black.
Skimmy creeping. The cylindrical bush consists of thin branches bare at the base. Leaflets are arranged in small whorls. The leaf length is 2-8 cm, and the width is 1-3 cm. The edges of the leaves have unexpressed teeth and a pink border. Dense inflorescences consist of white flowers of a triangular shape. They open in early summer. By mid-autumn, large red berries ripen.
The skimmy is doubtful. Male bush up to 3 m high and about 1.5 m wide. Leaves and flowers exude a strong pleasant aroma. Cream inflorescences bloom in March-April.
Breeding methods
Skimmy propagation is possible by rooting of petioles or sowing seeds. Seeds are preliminarily subjected to cold stratification for a week. You can put them in the refrigerator for this time. After this procedure, they are sown in a mixture of garden soil with peat to a depth of 1-2 cm. The earth is periodically moistened and kept in a bright place at an air temperature of about +22 ° C. Seeds germinate within 2-3 weeks. With the advent of 4 true leaves, seedlings dive into separate small pots of earth for adult plants.
To root the cuttings from March to July, apical stems 8-12 cm long are cut. The lower pair of leaves is cut, and the cut is treated with root. You can immediately root the cuttings in moist sand and peat soil. For the rooting period (14-20 days), the container with seedlings is covered with a film and kept in a warm place (+ 18 ... +22 ° C). Rooted plants begin to quickly produce new shoots and can be transplanted to a permanent place.
Transfer
Skimmy is transplanted as the rhizome grows. The pot is not too large so that the roots do not begin to rot. At the bottom of the pot spread washed pebbles, expanded clay or brick chips. The earth should be loose, fertile and acidic enough. The presence of lime in the soil is detrimental to the plant. Suitable composition of:
- peat;
- clay earth;
- humus leaf;
- river sand.
The roots try not to deepen much so that the root neck remains open. Otherwise, the skimmy will stop growing and may become ill.
Care Rules
At home, skimmy care is very simple. She needs to choose a bright place, but direct sunlight should not touch the leaves. Too dark places are also undesirable. In them, the branches are very stretched and exposed.
Air temperature should be moderate. The plant prefers cool and does not tolerate a temperature increase of up to +30 ° C. In this case, you need to spray the shoots more often and ventilate the room. For the summer, it is recommended to expose the bushes to fresh air, in a place protected from drafts. You can even transplant a skimmy into open ground. In winter, it is necessary to lower the temperature to + 8 ... +10 ° C. In the southern regions, wintering in open ground is possible. This cooling contributes to the formation of flower buds for next year.
The skimmy needs frequent but moderate watering. It is better to pour daily on a tablespoon of water into the ground than once a week to pour large quantities of liquid at once. The soil should be slightly moist all the time, but stagnation of water will lead to rotting of the roots and rapid death of the plant. Water for irrigation should be soft, free of chlorine.
The skimmy will be quite satisfied with the air humidity of urban apartments, therefore, it is not necessary to take measures to increase this indicator. Periodic bathing to remove dust is allowed.
To compensate for the lack of nutrients, in April-September it is necessary to fertilize the skimmy with complexes for flowering plants. Fertilizer is bred in large quantities of water and applied to the ground twice or thrice a month.
The skimmy independently maintains an attractive crown. Additionally, pinching the tips is not necessary. Pruning is carried out only to remove dried shoots and peduncles. The plant easily tolerates this procedure. Often, a skimmy is used to make bouquets and cut long flowering branches from the base.
Diseases and Pests
The skimmy does not tolerate excess moisture in the soil and undergo root rot. At the first sign of a problem, you can try to save the plant by drying the soil and treating it with fungicides.
If the leaves began to turn pale and lose color in the central part, this indicates chlorosis. It is necessary to make fertilizer with ferrous sulfate.
Juicy foliage is attacked by spider mites, scale insects and aphids. It is recommended to periodically process the crown from insects at the beginning of the warm season, when the plant is carried out to fresh air.
