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Skimmia
Stephen Hattam
Posts: 1
Skimmia problems.... Have had a Skimmia in a pot for the past 6 years and its been great, then all of a sudden over the past 3 weeks all the leaves are turning bright yellow.. is it dying... the soil is damp, but not wet, its container grown. HELP... and its on a east facing wall.. sun and shade. The top of the plant is green but all yellowing leaves are dropping. 
0
Posts
HI Stephen - it's a common issue with Skimmias if they're not in the right soil or conditions. However, any plant in a pot is dependent on you for it's needs. Each year you need to replace some of the soil/compost with fresh stuff and you will need to feed it appropriately. It may simply have used up all the nutrients in the pot and is now struggling because it's hungry and probably pot bound as well.
I'd take it out the pot and see what it looks like underneath. The other possibility is vine weevil damage - the grubs eat away at the roots and it's most common in pot grown plants.
Have a look at the roots and see what you think
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sounds like a combination of general hunger and specific chlorosis to me.
Re-pot in fresh ericaceous compost, water with some sequestered iron solution and give it a foliar feed by pouring over a solution made from 15ml of Epsom salts diluted in 5 litres of water. Repeat the foliar feed weekly till the frosts come and start again next spring if needed.
Every spring, replace the top couple of inches of compost with fresh and ad d a handful of slow release feed such as blood, fish and bone or pelleted chicken manure. Always water with rainwater or else tap water with added sequestered iron as this helps the roots take up nutrients that keep the plant healthy.