A customer came in today asking to buy a Skimmia japonica, saying he was
going to plant it at the back of a border. This produced a slightly
startled response from us and we asked how tall he thought it would grow. 3
metres was the answer. When we said it was more likely to go to around 3
feet-ish, we were told that he'd read on the internet that it would grow to
3 metres. He was most insistent that we were wrong and the internet was
right. Heaven knows how one combats this sort of thing but it just shows
what can happen if there is nobody to give information or advice. OTOH, we
would be most interested to hear from anyone who has seen such a plant
growing to 3 metres in UK outdoors!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
A customer came in today asking to buy a Skimmia japonica, saying he was
going to plant it at the back of a border. This produced a slightly
startled response from us and we asked how tall he thought it would grow.
3
metres was the answer. When we said it was more likely to go to around 3
feet-ish, we were told that he'd read on the internet that it would grow
to
3 metres. He was most insistent that we were wrong and the internet was
right. Heaven knows how one combats this sort of thing but it just shows
what can happen if there is nobody to give information or advice. OTOH,
we
would be most interested to hear from anyone who has seen such a plant
growing to 3 metres in UK outdoors!

--
Sacha

Species and subspecies
a.. Skimmia anquetilia. Western Himalaya to Afghanistan. Shrub to 2 m.
b.. Skimmia arborescens. Eastern Himalaya to southeast Asia. Shrub or
small tree to 15 m
c.. .
d..
e.. XXXXXXXX Skimmia japonica. Japan, Korea, China. Shrub to 7 m. XXXXXXX
f..
g..
a.. Skimmia japonica subsp. reevesiana (syn. S. reevesiana)
h.. Skimmia laureola. Nepal to Vietnam and China. Shrub or small tree to
13 m.
Skimmias are fed on by Aphids, the Horse Chestnut Scale, the Garden
Leafhopper, and the Southern Red Mite.

Kind regards

Mike

--
www.rneba.org.uk for the latest pictures of the very first reunion and
Inaugural General Meeting. Nothing less than a fantastic success.
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy
www.rneba.org.uk to find your ex-Greenie mess mates
www.iowtours.com for all ex-Service Reunions. More being added regularly
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a Stand

Sacha wrote:

When we said it was more likely to go to around 3
feet-ish, we were told that he'd read on the internet that it would grow to
3 metres. He was most insistent that we were wrong and the internet was
right.

Anybody who believes totally un-vetted information deserves what they get.
Sell them the plant and ask them to check back in a year or three, making
it clear (as you have) what your experience is.

This is about as stupid as "I heard it on TV (oops.... Telly), so it must
be true."

And yes, there ARE people that stupid.


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

On 4 Nov, 18:56, "'Mike'" wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message

. uk...



A customer came in today asking to buy a Skimmia japonica, saying he was
going to plant it at the back of a border. This produced a slightly
startled response from us and we asked how tall he thought it would grow.
3
metres was the answer. When we said it was more likely to go to around 3
feet-ish, we were told that he'd read on the internet that it would grow
to
3 metres. He was most insistent that we were wrong and the internet was
right. Heaven knows how one combats this sort of thing but it just shows
what can happen if there is nobody to give information or advice. OTOH,
we
would be most interested to hear from anyone who has seen such a plant
growing to 3 metres in UK outdoors!

--
Sacha

Species and subspecies
a.. Skimmia anquetilia. Western Himalaya to Afghanistan. Shrub to 2 m.
b.. Skimmia arborescens. Eastern Himalaya to southeast Asia. Shrub or
small tree to 15 m
c.. .
d..
e.. XXXXXXXX Skimmia japonica. Japan, Korea, China. Shrub to 7 m. XXXXXXX
f..
g..
a.. Skimmia japonica subsp. reevesiana (syn. S. reevesiana)
h.. Skimmia laureola. Nepal to Vietnam and China. Shrub or small tree to
13 m.
Skimmias are fed on by Aphids, the Horse Chestnut Scale, the Garden
Leafhopper, and the Southern Red Mite.

Kind regards

Mike

--www.rneba.org.ukfor the latest pictures of the very first reunion and
Inaugural General Meeting. Nothing less than a fantastic success.
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navywww.rneba.org.ukto find your ex-Greenie mess mateswww.iowtours.comfor all ex-Service Reunions. More being added regularly
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a Stand


A couple of times I have had to prune back old Skimmia japonica which
were around 6ft tall and planted infront of windows, I would estimate
that they were in the region of 20 years old, They had the house
behind them and an 8ft hedge to one side.
I also remember being asked about cutting back a minature conifer that
had got up to the level of the windowsill, the couple were both in
their 80's and had planted it when they first married, over 50 years
before. I said not to worry about it.
I'm sure we all know of shrubs that havn't read the books. A
Philidelphus growing out of the top of a 30ft Oak tree, a Keria
Japonica up to the guttering on a 2 story house.
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries

On Nov 4, 6:56 pm, "'Mike'" wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message

. uk...





A customer came in today asking to buy a Skimmia japonica, saying he was
going to plant it at the back of a border. This produced a slightly
startled response from us and we asked how tall he thought it would grow.
3
metres was the answer. When we said it was more likely to go to around 3
feet-ish, we were told that he'd read on the internet that it would grow
to
3 metres. He was most insistent that we were wrong and the internet was
right. Heaven knows how one combats this sort of thing but it just shows
what can happen if there is nobody to give information or advice. OTOH,
we
would be most interested to hear from anyone who has seen such a plant
growing to 3 metres in UK outdoors!

--
Sacha

Species and subspecies
a.. Skimmia anquetilia. Western Himalaya to Afghanistan. Shrub to 2 m.
b.. Skimmia arborescens. Eastern Himalaya to southeast Asia. Shrub or
small tree to 15 m
c.. .
d..
e.. XXXXXXXX Skimmia japonica. Japan, Korea, China. Shrub to 7 m. XXXXXXX
f..
g..
a.. Skimmia japonica subsp. reevesiana (syn. S. reevesiana)
h.. Skimmia laureola. Nepal to Vietnam and China. Shrub or small tree to
13 m.
Skimmias are fed on by Aphids, the Horse Chestnut Scale, the Garden
Leafhopper, and the Southern Red Mite.

Kind regards

Mike

--www.rneba.org.ukfor the latest pictures of the very first reunion and
Inaugural General Meeting. Nothing less than a fantastic success.
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navywww.rneba.org.ukto find your ex-Greenie mess mateswww.iowtours.comfor all ex-Service Reunions. More being added regularly
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a Stand- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Those are the heights attained in their native conditions, not in the
U.K.

Judith

"judith.lea" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Nov 4, 6:56 pm, "'Mike'" wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message

. uk...





A customer came in today asking to buy a Skimmia japonica, saying he was
going to plant it at the back of a border. This produced a slightly
startled response from us and we asked how tall he thought it would
grow.
3
metres was the answer. When we said it was more likely to go to around
3
feet-ish, we were told that he'd read on the internet that it would
grow
to
3 metres. He was most insistent that we were wrong and the internet was
right. Heaven knows how one combats this sort of thing but it just
shows
what can happen if there is nobody to give information or advice.
OTOH,
we
would be most interested to hear from anyone who has seen such a plant
growing to 3 metres in UK outdoors!

--
Sacha

Species and subspecies
a.. Skimmia anquetilia. Western Himalaya to Afghanistan. Shrub to 2 m.
b.. Skimmia arborescens. Eastern Himalaya to southeast Asia. Shrub or
small tree to 15 m
c.. .
d..
e.. XXXXXXXX Skimmia japonica. Japan, Korea, China. Shrub to 7 m.
XXXXXXX
f..
g..
a.. Skimmia japonica subsp. reevesiana (syn. S. reevesiana)
h.. Skimmia laureola. Nepal to Vietnam and China. Shrub or small tree
to
13 m.
Skimmias are fed on by Aphids, the Horse Chestnut Scale, the Garden
Leafhopper, and the Southern Red Mite.

Kind regards

Mike

--www.rneba.org.ukfor the latest pictures of the very first reunion and
Inaugural General Meeting. Nothing less than a fantastic success.
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal
Navywww.rneba.org.ukto find your ex-Greenie mess mateswww.iowtours.comfor
all ex-Service Reunions. More being added regularly
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a
Stand- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Those are the heights attained in their native conditions, not in the
U.K.

Judith

Judith, the point I was making was that I picked that information up off the
Internet. Go to page 175 (I think it is) of the RHS Book and it says 5 feet
:-))

I have to contend with people telling me how to run ex Service reunions,
'because they know all about it', HOWEVER, a few tactful questions and they
realise that "I" know what I am talking about and they then leave it to me
:-)) I now have over 20 to do and asked to deal with 2 more today alone!!!
One for 2009!

The internet is a fine thing for ground work, (bringing it back on topic)
and for kids to do their homework which can be corrected, but not for
details 'Set in Stone', there is NO substitute for personal experience
gained over many years :-))

Kind regards

Mike


--
www.rneba.org.uk for the latest pictures of the very first reunion and
Inaugural General Meeting. Nothing less than a fantastic success.
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy
www.rneba.org.uk to find your ex-Greenie mess mates
www.iowtours.com for all ex-Service Reunions. More being added regularly
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a Stand

On Nov 4, 6:56 pm, "'Mike'" wrote:

An irrelevant assemblage of ill-understood information, which proves
Sacha's point. Any fool can trawl info about one species of a genus
and attach it to another. It happens all too often and results in a
slurry of disinformation.

a. Skimmia anquetilia. Western Himalaya to Afghanistan. Shrub to 2 m.

Not recorded at that size outside native haunts and only rarely seen
that large in the Western Himalayas. In Afghanistan it remains very
dwarf due to the extreme climate. Rarely grown.

b.. Skimmia arborescens. Eastern Himalaya to southeast Asia. Shrub or
small tree to 15 m

Never been cultivated above 4m. Rarely grown.

e. Skimmia japonica. Japan, Korea, China. Shrub to 7 m.

Not seen anywhere near that size outside its native haunts. Such
plants are well in excess of 100 years old.

a. Skimmia japonica subsp. reevesiana (syn. S. reevesiana)

Very compact and rarely seen above 1m.

h. Skimmia laureola. Nepal to Vietnam and China. Shrub or small tree to
13 m.

Maximum 3m. in cultivation. Rarely grown.

Wikipedia is only as good as the information posted to it. In this
case it is less than useless.

On Nov 4, 7:45 pm, "'Mike'" wrote:
"judith.lea" wrote in message

ups.com...





On Nov 4, 6:56 pm, "'Mike'" wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message

o.uk...

A customer came in today asking to buy a Skimmia japonica, saying he was
going to plant it at the back of a border. This produced a slightly
startled response from us and we asked how tall he thought it would
grow.
3
metres was the answer. When we said it was more likely to go to around
3
feet-ish, we were told that he'd read on the internet that it would
grow
to
3 metres. He was most insistent that we were wrong and the internet was
right. Heaven knows how one combats this sort of thing but it just
shows
what can happen if there is nobody to give information or advice.
OTOH,
we
would be most interested to hear from anyone who has seen such a plant
growing to 3 metres in UK outdoors!

--
Sacha

Species and subspecies
a.. Skimmia anquetilia. Western Himalaya to Afghanistan. Shrub to 2 m.
b.. Skimmia arborescens. Eastern Himalaya to southeast Asia. Shrub or
small tree to 15 m
c.. .
d..
e.. XXXXXXXX Skimmia japonica. Japan, Korea, China. Shrub to 7 m.
XXXXXXX
f..
g..
a.. Skimmia japonica subsp. reevesiana (syn. S. reevesiana)
h.. Skimmia laureola. Nepal to Vietnam and China. Shrub or small tree
to
13 m.
Skimmias are fed on by Aphids, the Horse Chestnut Scale, the Garden
Leafhopper, and the Southern Red Mite.

Kind regards

Mike

--www.rneba.org.ukforthe latest pictures of the very first reunion and
Inaugural General Meeting. Nothing less than a fantastic success.
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal
Navywww.rneba.org.uktofind your ex-Greenie mess mateswww.iowtours.comfor
all ex-Service Reunions. More being added regularly
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a
Stand- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Those are the heights attained in their native conditions, not in the
U.K.

Judith

Judith, the point I was making was that I picked that information up off the
Internet. Go to page 175 (I think it is) of the RHS Book and it says 5 feet
:-))

I have to contend with people telling me how to run ex Service reunions,
'because they know all about it', HOWEVER, a few tactful questions and they
realise that "I" know what I am talking about and they then leave it to me
:-)) I now have over 20 to do and asked to deal with 2 more today alone!!!
One for 2009!

The internet is a fine thing for ground work, (bringing it back on topic)
and for kids to do their homework which can be corrected, but not for
details 'Set in Stone', there is NO substitute for personal experience
gained over many years :-))

Kind regards

Mike

--www.rneba.org.ukfor the latest pictures of the very first reunion and
Inaugural General Meeting. Nothing less than a fantastic success.
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navywww.rneba.org.ukto find your ex-Greenie mess mateswww.iowtours.comfor all ex-Service Reunions. More being added regularly
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will have a Stand- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Absolutely, experience is gained over many years experience and that
is why I always refer to myself as a mere novice. I have little
experience but I am very willing to learn and I thank God for most
posters here who do have experience and are willing to put me right,
always with kindness, tolerance and never putting me down for my lack
of knowledge.

Judith

Judith

In message .com, Dave
Poole writes
On Nov 4, 6:56 pm, "'Mike'" wrote:

An irrelevant assemblage of ill-understood information, which proves
Sacha's point. Any fool can trawl info about one species of a genus
and attach it to another. It happens all too often and results in a
slurry of disinformation.

As you no doubt realise the problem with the web is distinguishing good
information from bad. Wikipedia's not as bad as I feared it would be -
it's not a bad first port of call for many subjects - but it's hardly
authoritative.

So I went to the Flora of China being produced at Harvard University
(Arnold Arboretum?), in collaboration with Chinese botanists (and RBGE).
It appears that there's only a draft up for Rutaceae. See

http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/m...-CAS_final.htm

a. Skimmia anquetilia. Western Himalaya to Afghanistan. Shrub to 2 m.

Not recorded at that size outside native haunts and only rarely seen
that large in the Western Himalayas. In Afghanistan it remains very
dwarf due to the extreme climate. Rarely grown.

Not in Flora of China. More surprisingly not in Flora of Pakistan, which
only has Skimmia laureola, nor in Flora of Nepal Checklist, even tho'
IPNI gives the range as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal.

Hillier, which is all I can conveniently find on this, just says "a
small shrub". I would have thought that JSTOR would have had the
original description in Curtis's Botanical Magazine, but Google's not
finding it, and anyway I don't have a JSTOR subscription, and it's too
recent to be in Botanicus or Google Books.

b.. Skimmia arborescens. Eastern Himalaya to southeast Asia. Shrub or
small tree to 15 m

"Tree to 8 m"

Never been cultivated above 4m. Rarely grown.

e. Skimmia japonica. Japan, Korea, China. Shrub to 7 m.

Skimmia japonica is not in the Flora of China. I guess that the
reference to China in the above applies to Skimmia reevesiana.

However going to the Flora of Japan at the University of Tokyo. See

http://foj.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/gbif/foj/

gives us "60-200 cm tall", i.e. 0.6-2 m.

Not seen anywhere near that size outside its native haunts. Such
plants are well in excess of 100 years old.

a. Skimmia japonica subsp. reevesiana (syn. S. reevesiana)

"Shrubs 1-2 m tall". Hillier says less.

Very compact and rarely seen above 1m.

h. Skimmia laureola. Nepal to Vietnam and China. Shrub or small tree to
13 m.

"Shrub to 1.3 m." Did someone lose a decimal point?

Maximum 3m. in cultivation. Rarely grown.

Wikipedia is only as good as the information posted to it. In this
case it is less than useless.

I guess some of the discrepancies are due to differences between the
size of the usual run of the species, and the extreme specimens -
there's a Malva sylvestris down the canal from me which reaches 3m,
twice what Flora Europaea gives, and thrice what Stace gives (the
Mediterranean forms are larger).

Of course, from the point of view of Sacha and her customers, it's the
expected, not extreme, size that is relevant, and also the size that is
reached within a sensible period of time.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

On 4/11/07 19:31, in article
, "Dave Hill"
wrote:


A couple of times I have had to prune back old Skimmia japonica which
were around 6ft tall and planted infront of windows, I would estimate
that they were in the region of 20 years old, They had the house
behind them and an 8ft hedge to one side.
I also remember being asked about cutting back a minature conifer that
had got up to the level of the windowsill, the couple were both in
their 80's and had planted it when they first married, over 50 years
before. I said not to worry about it.
I'm sure we all know of shrubs that havn't read the books. A
Philidelphus growing out of the top of a 30ft Oak tree, a Keria
Japonica up to the guttering on a 2 story house.
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries


But those are the exceptions, not the rule, or not in UK. Those 'miniature'
conifers are the very devil for that. I don't think anyone selling or
buying them expects the buyer to live in a house long enough to see them do
their worst.
This man really believed he was going to buy a Skimmia from us, sit back and
watch it grow that tall because that was the *norm* for that plant. The
trouble with that - and it happened today - was that he insisted that we
must be wrong because "I've read it on the internet". In the end, thank
goodness, he listened and didn't buy it because it would have disappointed
him so much when it didn't reach that height next year.
We had another customer today who just would not believe that Passiflora
antioquensis wasn't a Clematis, however many times Ray told her it wasn't.
Truly, she asked him 3 times if he was sure. ;-) She really wanted it to
be a Clematis and asked if she could grow it in a pot on a windowsill. Ours
stretches about 20' in different directions and in a commercial greenhouse
grows to and through the roof. We had to cut its predecessor back every
single year and this one was only planted this year!
It bothers me that people must make some expensive but above all, very
disappointing, mistakes. And if they take all their health advice off the
internet - well......!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

On Nov 4, 10:35 pm, Stewart Robert Hinsley
wrote:

a. Skimmia anquetilia. Western Himalaya to Afghanistan. Shrub to 2 m.
Not recorded at that size outside native haunts ..... [snip]

Not in Flora of China. More surprisingly not in Flora of Pakistan, which
only has Skimmia laureola, nor in Flora of Nepal Checklist, even tho'
IPNI gives the range as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal.

I grew it many years ago during the '70s, when I seemed to be
acquiring members of the Rutaceae. I think it came to me from Ness
via Picton at Colwall Nurseries, but I could be wrong on that. One of
the scraps of info that tends to stick, was that this form was from an
eastern accession where it grew to around 2m.

Skimmia japonica is not in the Flora of China. I guess that the
reference to China in the above applies to Skimmia reevesiana.

It is an hermaphroditic, Chinese and Taiwanese sub species, very well
known in the nursery trade for its reliability in producing berries
without the need of pollinator, unlike the species proper. Generally
seen as a low spreading mound to 60 - 70 cms high and across, only
very old plants manage to reach 1m. There used to be a pair of ssp.
reevesiana at Brockencote Hall in Worcestershire, which were over 1m
high and across. It's a rather smart restaurant nowadays with a car
park in place of the Skimmias.

As to Skimmia japonica proper, it is variable and usually present in
gardens in the more compact, horticulturally selected forms. Over the
years I've read various articles on Japanese flora mentioning very
large, moss-laden plants in habitat, but these are exceptionally
rare. Good, compact forms are the most valued, which is why the
cultivar 'Rubella' is probably the most popular of all.

h. Skimmia laureola. Nepal to Vietnam and China. Shrub or small tree to
13 m.

"Shrub to 1.3 m." Did someone lose a decimal point?

I suspect a lot of wishful thinking expanded it to a 40ft+ tree! I
couldn't dismiss that outright because it's impossible to know about
every sighting and description of species in habitat. It is usually
reported as an under storey shrub, but I vaguely remember an article
(possibly in the old RHS Journal) mentioning sightings of very large
plants in Nepal. The leaves of this are used for flavouring curries
and stews! A bit of a risky condiment considering the poisonous
alkaloids found in many if not all Skimmias.

I guess some of the discrepancies are due to differences between the
size of the usual run of the species,

I think it is important to appreciate that botanical descriptions tend
to dwell upon typical plants within a specie and size variations due
to local climatic influences etc. are of less note than structural
characteristics. In gardening, horticultural variations (usually of
no botanical significance) are the most important aspects, which is
why few of us pay a great deal of attention to botanical references,
except when trying to distinguish between species.

Of course, from the point of view of Sacha and her customers, it's the
expected, not extreme, size that is relevant, and also the size that is
reached within a sensible period of time.

The key phrase here is "within a sensible period of time". Sacha's
customer will not see the Skimmia reach that height in his lifetime,
but his grandchildren or great grandchildren might. Provided of
course the plant is grown in optimum conditions.

In message om, Dave
Poole writes
On Nov 4, 10:35 pm, Stewart Robert Hinsley
wrote:

a. Skimmia anquetilia. Western Himalaya to Afghanistan. Shrub to 2 m.
Not recorded at that size outside native haunts ..... [snip]

Not in Flora of China. More surprisingly not in Flora of Pakistan, which
only has Skimmia laureola, nor in Flora of Nepal Checklist, even tho'
IPNI gives the range as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal.

I grew it many years ago during the '70s, when I seemed to be
acquiring members of the Rutaceae. I think it came to me from Ness
via Picton at Colwall Nurseries, but I could be wrong on that. One of
the scraps of info that tends to stick, was that this form was from an
eastern accession where it grew to around 2m.

Skimmia japonica is not in the Flora of China. I guess that the
reference to China in the above applies to Skimmia reevesiana.

It is an hermaphroditic, Chinese and Taiwanese sub species, very well
known in the nursery trade for its reliability in producing berries
without the need of pollinator, unlike the species proper. Generally
seen as a low spreading mound to 60 - 70 cms high and across, only
very old plants manage to reach 1m. There used to be a pair of ssp.
reevesiana at Brockencote Hall in Worcestershire, which were over 1m
high and across. It's a rather smart restaurant nowadays with a car
park in place of the Skimmias.

As to Skimmia japonica proper, it is variable and usually present in
gardens in the more compact, horticulturally selected forms. Over the
years I've read various articles on Japanese flora mentioning very
large, moss-laden plants in habitat, but these are exceptionally
rare. Good, compact forms are the most valued, which is why the
cultivar 'Rubella' is probably the most popular of all.

The Flora of Japan has a long list of botanical varieties. I didn't look
at them, and expect most of them are synonyms, but there might be a
larger form buried in there.

h. Skimmia laureola. Nepal to Vietnam and China. Shrub or small tree to
13 m.

"Shrub to 1.3 m." Did someone lose a decimal point?

I suspect a lot of wishful thinking expanded it to a 40ft+ tree! I
couldn't dismiss that outright because it's impossible to know about
every sighting and description of species in habitat. It is usually
reported as an under storey shrub, but I vaguely remember an article
(possibly in the old RHS Journal) mentioning sightings of very large
plants in Nepal. The leaves of this are used for flavouring curries
and stews! A bit of a risky condiment considering the poisonous
alkaloids found in many if not all Skimmias.

Hillier describes it as a creeping shrub.

I guess some of the discrepancies are due to differences between the
size of the usual run of the species,

I think it is important to appreciate that botanical descriptions tend
to dwell upon typical plants within a specie and size variations due
to local climatic influences etc. are of less note than structural
characteristics. In gardening, horticultural variations (usually of
no botanical significance) are the most important aspects, which is
why few of us pay a great deal of attention to botanical references,
except when trying to distinguish between species.

Of course, from the point of view of Sacha and her customers, it's the
expected, not extreme, size that is relevant, and also the size that is
reached within a sensible period of time.

The key phrase here is "within a sensible period of time". Sacha's
customer will not see the Skimmia reach that height in his lifetime,
but his grandchildren or great grandchildren might. Provided of
course the plant is grown in optimum conditions.

I've been through my digital photograph files. Most of the Skimmias are
young plants, but there's an older 'Ruby Dome' at Logan Botanic which
has a spread of the order of 2m, but probably less than 1m of height -
dome seems to be a misnomer for older plants, and there's an
unidentified plant (I'd guess a japonica) at Dorothy Clive, which might
be 1.5m in height, but with twice that spread.

The figures in Wikipedia seem to be from Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS
Dictionary of Gardening. If someone with a copy could check whether the
13m for laureola is a missing decimal point ...
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley