flower buds or berries???' ... that comment confuses me ...

'ken

Skimmia japonica? And those might be flower buds. Is this plant growing in shade?

What part of PA?

When was the picture taken?

Mike

LOL, flora.

Yup, Skimmia.

Here's the berries on one of mine a couple of weeks a go.

In case you didn't get it clearly from previous posts, you need both male and female plants to get berries on the girls (like with most hollies). I am quite a bit more fond of the male flowers than I am of the female's berries (larger and showier than female flower clusters) so I just grow males.

It does need an acidic soil, preferably enriched with some organic matter, and a good bit of shade - too much sun will bleach out the foliage and make the plant excessively prone to mites. Many folks in my area inherit gardens with skimmias sited incorrectly and are amazed when they discover the anemic looking, pale yellow-green, stippled foliage should be a rich, deep and shiny green!

BTW, Reeve's skimmia, Skimmia reevesiana, is a self-fertile species that doesn't require both male and female plants for berry production.

On closer inspection, they do appear to be tiny flower buds, not berries. Since they are present in January, I didn't consider the possibility that it was buds I was looking at. This shrub is growing in shade in acidic soil and is doing very nicely. Looking at online photos of Skimmia, and I'm sure that's what I have. Was hoping for something native to PA, but at least the deer haven't destroyed it, like they have with many of our other evergreen shrubs. Thanks all for the help!

If you have healthy Skimmia you should be happy! They need just the right spot to look good in our region.