The Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia, otherwise known as the Skimmia Japonica (Male & Female) or Japanese Spirea ‘Anthony Waterer’, Anthony Waterer Spirea, Anthony Waterer Japanese Spirea, Spiraea bumalda ‘Anthony Waterer’, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and slow growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia are the following:
- Water: The Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia grows best with regular watering to keep the soil moist during the dry season. Reduce watering once the plant is established.
- Light: Keep your Skimmia Japonica (Male & Female) in an environment where it can receive partial sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, chalk, and loam.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia belongs to the Rosaceae family, the genus Spiraea and the species Japonica, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Skimmia Japonica (Male & Female) (SKIM-i-a juh-PON-ih-kuh).
Other common Rosaceae species include Rosa X ‘Radyod’ Plant Patent #14700, Brilliant Red Chokeberry, Rosa X ‘Cecile, Frosty® Potentilla, Forsythia X ‘Courtasol’, Prunus Serrulata ‘Kwanzan’, Red Delicious Apple, Prunus X ‘Snofozam’, Yellow Lady Banks Climbing Rose, Breath of Spring Spirea, Darkstar® Purple Leaf Sand Cherry, Gingersnap™ Potentilla, Malus X Domestica ‘Golden Delicious’, Wall Cotoneaster, Malus ‘Braeburn’, Malus Domestica, Flowering Quince, Pink Stripe New Zealand Flax, Potentilla Fruticosa ‘Gold Star’, Prunus Cerasifera ‘Krauter Vesuvius’, Prunus Cerasifera ‘Thundercloud’, Prunus Persica Var. Nucipersica ‘Snow Queen’, Floribunda rose ‘Golden Beauty’, Climbing Rose ‘Golden Showers’, Climbing Rose ‘Joseph’s Coat’, Large-Flowered Climber, Spiraea Japonica ‘Conspiyet’, Alchemilla Mollis ‘Thriller’, Prunus Subhirtella ‘Pendula’, First Snow Spirea, Fuji Apple, Japanese Rose, Versailles Laurel, Prunus Salicina ‘Ozark Premier’, Alyssum Serpyllifolium, Red Chokeberry ‘Brilliantissima’, Badja Peak Mint Bush and Cotoneaster humifusa.
As with other Spiraea’s, the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia is a plant native to the Japan and China.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend to always keep in mind your plants’ native region and environment, since these are the conditions that your Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia is most accustomed to, thus where it can most favorably.
With this in mind, the Skimmia Japonica (Male & Female) will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 3b, 3a, 4a, 4b, 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, A2, A3.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia is a relatively slow grower, which makes things easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Skimmia Japonica (Male & Female) can grow up to 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm) in 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm) and 3′ – 4′ (90cm – 120cm) in 3′ – 4′ (90cm – 120cm).
These dimensions make the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia a relatively medium shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 36″ – 48″ (90cm – 120cm) free so the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Skimmia Japonica (Male & Female) grows best with regular watering to keep the soil moist during the dry season. Reduce watering once the plant is established.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, chalk, and loam.
This is why most experts agree that the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia requires soil with clay, high organic matter, loam (silt), and shallow rocky, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia requires partial sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Skimmia Japonica (Male & Female) in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (late), the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia to flower around the spring and in the summer months from April to June (spring), and from July to September (summer).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia produces some beautiful white, or pink flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a alternate organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Skimmia Japonica (Male & Female) to be around (1-3 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia is well known for being able to attract butterflies, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Skimmia Japonica (Male & Female) will be fine.
Garden
Does your Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Skimmia Japonica (Male & Female) owners agree that this shrub will look great in most asian/zen gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, banks and slopes, and in hedges and screens, others use it for landscaping in a urban garden, container, hedge, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Azalea, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Camellia will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Berri-Magic® Japanese Skimmia, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
