If you're looking for a perfect garden plant then 'Rubella' has it all - it's compact, low-maintenance, grows in dappled shade, looks good all year, has fragrant flowers and is wildlife-friendly. It's one of those 'plant it and leave it' shrubs, so there's little wonder why they sell out so quickly! Skimmia japonica 'Rubella' is a compact, bushy evergreen shrub with cones of red buds which open to fragrant white flowers in early spring - A classic plant for winter or spring containers where the dark, leathery leaves provide a super background for its showy flowers. All parts of this award-winning plant have a pleasant fragrance when crushed, not unlike ..... so, position them near doorways, entrances or windows so that you can appreciate the scent too. Most individual varieties of Skimmias are either male or female - 'Rubella' is male so will not produce berries - but when you see and smell the gorgeous scented flowers, they more than make up for that. Skimmia plants are slow growing, so little pruning is needed - which is great if you have little time to be messing around with secateurs and pruning manuals - in fact, it is better not to trim them at all, if possible. Add to this the fact that 'Rubella' holds an RHS award of garden merit and you can be assured that it will perform in your garden.
Skimmia japonica 'Rubella' is a plant that offers year round interest with glossy evergreen foliage, and during summer, dense panicles of small, fragrant white flowers, followed by clusters of red buds in autumn and winter. It is a hassle free plant suitable for woodland gardens, and patio planters, or borders in shaded parts of the garden. Height and spread: 80cm (31).