The skimmia was effectively a cutting when you planted it then. I'm not sure why you've dug in grass clippings to improve the area, but even so, if it wasn't something as tough as a skimmia, it would probably have died off. They take quite a while to reach a decent enough size for planting out in a big border. I wouldn't plant something that small out unless it was filling a 3 or 4 inch pot, and even then I would wait until at least next month, when things are wanting to grow. I'm used to that here, as our season is later, but even in a milder area, planting early is always a gamble.
The soil you're aiming for should be healthy, free draining and crumbly. The addition of organic matter, every year, helps whether you have clay or sand. Compost - home made or purchased is also beneficial. Drainage will depend on what you want to grow, the same with the aspect - ie the amount of sun or shade a plant gets. All plants need regular watering for a while, unless you plant in autumn or spring and have a climate which has regular, persistent rainfall.
If it's jasmines you have - they like very different climactic conditions and aspects from skimmias. They won't like soggy, heavy ground for example.
I was digging in grass clippings for two reasons, 1) i didn’t have a brown bin at that time so made sense for them to compost down naturally, 2) when composting I was always to believe that green adds nitrogen and brown adds carbon and so 1 spade of leaves for carbon and 1 spade of grass for nitrogen. I did this in preparation of being able to use this area as a flower bed.
Yes agree about the size of the skimmia, as I said I’ve never potted on-just lack or knowing that really. Will leave in the lot until it gets root bound.
I don't think gardenias are fully hardy in most of the UK, so that could be part of the problem. Some jasmines aren't either (although the ones I'm familiar with are climbers).
From the instructions The jasmines kleim is h3 so ok to -5 and the crown jewel is h6. Wasn’t a cold winter but did get to -2 over in the midlands. There is green growth on so I know they are not dead it’s just that they have not grown in size, these are about 9months old so at the time I was thinking they were just establishing
Yes - most jasmines aren't hardy up here, unless you grow them indoors.
The hardiness guide is just that - a guide. There's a lot more to the survival of a plant than just temperature - especially air temperature. Cold, wet soil will kill things off far quicker than drier cold, because it takes a long time to warm up and dry out.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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The hardiness guide is just that - a guide. There's a lot more to the survival of a plant than just temperature - especially air temperature. Cold, wet soil will kill things off far quicker than drier cold, because it takes a long time to warm up and dry out.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...