Is Japanese Skimmia deer resistant?
Skimmia japonica
Plant typeShrubHardinessZones 7–8LightFull shade to part shade
Mature height24–84 in
BloomSpringMaintenanceLow, mostly leave it alone
About Japanese Skimmia
Evergreen, shade-tolerant and studded with red berries all winter. Most forms need a male and a female plant, which is why single specimens so often fail to fruit.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 5 to 6.5
- Drainage
- Consistently moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 35 to 47 in apart
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Maintenance
- Low
Tolerances and uses
- Evergreen
Similar to Japanese Skimmia
Other shrubs with the same deer rating.
- Arrowwood ViburnumViburnum dentatumZones 2–8Rarely damaged
- BarberryBerberis sp.Zones 4–8, genus rangeRarely damaged
- BayberryMyrica pensylvanicaZones 3–7Rarely damaged
- Blue Mist ShrubCaryopteris clandonensisZones 6–9Rarely damaged
- BoxwoodBuxus sempervirensZones 5–8Rarely damaged
- BroomCytisus sp.Zones 5–8, genus rangeRarely damaged
Where Japanese Skimmia grows
Hardy across most of these 35 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Illinois
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texas
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
Browse from here
Every list Japanese Skimmia belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Japanese Skimmia
- Is Japanese Skimmia deer resistant?
- Japanese Skimmia (Skimmia japonica) is rated Rarely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Deer almost always leave this alone.
- What hardiness zones does Japanese Skimmia grow in?
- Japanese Skimmia is hardy in USDA zones 7 to 8. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Japanese Skimmia grow in shade?
- Yes. Japanese Skimmia tolerates full shade to part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- How big does Japanese Skimmia get?
- Mature height is roughly 24–84 in. Growth rate is slow.