We have several large (50 ft?) cedars in our south-facing front yard. Between two of them, spaced maybe 25 ft apart, we put a lot of compost, dug out the ivy that used to grow there, and have tried growing various things there. We have a few small species rhodos that are surviving there but we don't know yet how well they'll bloom. We are thinking of putting some more compost-sand mixture in the area and trying to grow a few skimmia there. The area gets a little sun in the spring and autumn but is mostly shady. We have managed to grow a couple of roscoea there as well. Would skimmia have a reasonable chance of growing there? If so, are there any particular varieities that would do best in that location? We would probabaly water the area once a week in the summer.
I have growing under a western red cedar hedge, skimmia japonica. Gets a bit of light, and does very well. If it is in full shade it gets leggy, or so I found out. It is not part of the sprinkling system so only gets the moisture that falls from the sky. (this very hot summer I did water the area a couple of times). I'm in Ladner so we do get a bit more sun than Vancouver. lol
Thanks for the advice. It sounds as if it's worth trying skimmia under our cedars. The area does get some sun (and the southwest of Vancouver city isn't too bad for sun). Our main concern was the dryness of the soil: the cedars both act as a rain canopy and, of course, take all the moisture ferom ther soil.
