TREES > YEW
IN THIS GUIDE
YEW GUIDES
Pruning
Yews are one of our native tree diagram , sometimes taking a shrub - alike form .
They are attractive cone-bearing evergreens that can bear red Charles Edward Berry - like fruits which are beloved by a compass of wildlife as well as have ornamental solicitation .
Taxus baccata‘Dovastoniana’
In this guide we have collaborated withBill Irving , the Director of Boxtrees Nursery which is a specializer Yew agriculturalist in Suffolk .
“ Yew trees are slap-up garden plants , ” says Bill .
“ They provide valuable form and social structure throughout the year and look equally at home in traditional English country gardens and modern garden innovation .
“ They are dependable and adaptable plants that tolerate a variety of growing condition and aspects . ”
Though they are slow - growing , yew are remarkably unchallenging works , get by with a all-inclusive range of conditions .
They are various too and can be used in a wide range of different ways in a garden .
Often used as hedging works , these trees can also have legion other applications .
“ I ’ve planted many yew , most of which I desire will outlast me and many generations to amount , ” shares Todd Longstaffe - Gowan , a Landscape Architect .
Overview
PreferredFull Sun , Partial Shade , Full Shade
ExposureExposed or Sheltered
Height0.5 – 8 G
Spread0.5 – 4 grand
Bloom TimeMarch to April
PreferredMost productive dirt
MoistureWell - drained
pHAny
Yew , botanically known asTaxus baccata , is a native tree in the Taxaceae flora category that carry an tremendous weight of symbolisation in the British Isles.1Yew – Taxus baccata . ( n.d . ) . Kew Royal Botanic Gardens . retrieve March 30 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.kew.org/plants/yew
They are often considered to be a symbol of both death and immortality.2Yew ( Taxus baccata ) . ( n.d . ) . Woodland Trust . call up March 30 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/yew/#:~:text=Yew%20trees%20were%20used%20as,Palm%20Sunday%20and%20at%20funerals .
They are very long - lived , often found in churchyards.3Callery , S. ( 2020 , June 25).Why do so many English churchyards have yews?British Guild of Tourist Guides . Retrieved March 30 , 2023 , fromhttps://britainsbestguides.org/blogs/why-do-so-many-english-churchyards-have-yews/#:~:text=There%20was%20another%20reason%20for,also%20suggested%20rebirth%20and%20resurrection .
Yews , as native trees , are extremely beneficial for garden wildlife .
Therefore , they can be a great selection for anyone who would like to create a wildlife - favorable garden to appeal to garden animate being all year round .
The dense growth of yew trees provides tax shelter and habitat year - round and the fruits created on female yew are a food source for raspberry and small mammal during fall and winter .
Yews are one of only a very small act of evergreens that are native to some or all part of the British Isles.4Barkham , P. ( 2019b , September 28).Britain ’s ancient yew : mystical , magnificent – and unprotected . The Guardian . Retrieved March 30 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/28/britain-ancient-yews-mystical-magnificent-and-unprotected
This take a leak them a very popular choice for many gardener .
Common Varieties
When choose a yew Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree for your garden , it is important to think about why you wish to grow it .
Think about whether you are looking for a resist - alone specimen to grow relatively naturally , a plant for topiary or hedging , a tall tree diagram , a shrub or a ground - covering plant .
Some yew varieties with an Award of Garden Merit from the RHS are :
Taxus baccata‘Dovastoniana’
This yew is a turgid shrub that eventually grows wider than it is marvelous , with a altitude and spread of up to 4 m or so .
It has erect branches and gold - yellow foliage that turns orange in wintertime .
Golden Irish yew is another prominent but compact evergreen plant shrub .
When young , it tends to have a columnar cast that broadens out as it ages .
Its branches are erect and the foliage is yellowish towards the tips and margin .
This yew also originate up to around 4 m magniloquent but typically grows no more than 2.5 m wide .
This is a basis - covering yew that grows no more than 0.1 - 0.5 MB in acme but which can spread out out over 2.5 - 4 m.
It is suitable for low hedge for formal gardens , bed edging or for the front of a border .
Another Irish yew , this option is a yew with a columnar figure , upright arm and rich , yellow - greenish leaf .
It will tend to produce around 1 - 1.5 thou in pinnacle , spread to 0.5 - 1 metre wide .
Another low - growing and circulate yew , this option grows to around 0.5 - 1 m in tiptop , in the end spread out to about 1 - 1.5 m.
It has narrow , yellow - edged youthful leaf which subsequently wrick creamy in chromaticity as they get on .
Yews can be very different from one another in price of their size of it and form , so it is authoritative to explore the shape , growth habits and properties of any yew kind that you are considering .
How To Grow A Yew Tree
Once you have considered how you might use a yew tree in your garden design , it is important to check that that you could meet the environmental necessary of these trees or shrubs .
This means understanding the conditions that yews wish and recognising the condition in unlike locations in your garden .
Preferred Location
The great newsworthiness is that yew can work well in many different situations and in a range of different dirt .
They can spring up well in anything from full sun to deep shade in an let on or sheltered location .
Any grease case can work for maturate yews , as long as it is well - drain and does not become waterlogged .
These trees or shrubs are also unfussy when it comes to soil pH , though grime on the alkaline side is ideal .
All of this means that yew tree can be an excellent choice for many British gardens .
Yew can be used in a broad range of locating and for a wide chain of design .
For object lesson , you might grow yew trees as :
“ Using wild pots is something we do quite often , as you’re able to get flora likeTaxus baccatain them , which do n’t wish being in a quite a little long term , ” shares award - advance Landscape Architect Bunny Guinness .
“ you’re able to add these pots to courtyards or underneath other trees . It helps to add something architectural to your outdoor office . ”
Planting Yew
Before planting , wherever you have opt to incorporate it into your garden design , be certain to prepare the field by create sure that it is rich in organic matter .
“ Preparation and formation are the keys to get unattackable salubrious plant , ” Bill says .
“ Prepare the ground well , plant when condition are in force and observe the flora regularly to keep a curb on establishment and wellness . ”
Yews are typically purchased either as bare - root specimen or as container - grown tree .
They are best found either in the fall or other winter ( October to December ) or in early spring ( March ) for the best results , whether you are planting an single yew or create a hedgerow .
“ Do n’t be tempted to plant too closely , ” enjoin Bill .
“ Poor atmosphere circulation can lead to more risk of infection of fungous disease . ”
Yew Hedging
As mentioned above , you may grow yew as sidestep in both formal , neat and clipped mannequin and in more informal hedge designs , perhaps alongside a number of other native Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and shrub coinage .
One of the benefit of using yew for hedge is that , as a slowly - growing flora , it will not typically require to be clip or trim anywhere near as oftentimes as many other coniferous tree and evergreens .
Yew trees make excellent dense formal hedging and are a popular choice for manicured space .
“ slow formal hedges may necessitate extra cut through the summer and fall , ” explains Bill .
“ Yew can also reclaim from quondam forest if any refurbishment is call for . ”
“ If your Yew hedgerow outgrows its original intended dimensions , you could hard clip it back in stage , ” tote up Colin Skelly , a Horticultural Consultant .
“ In year 1 , take one side of the hedge back to desolate wood where you want growth to resume from .
“ When this has commence to regrow ( perhaps twelvemonth 2 or 3 ) then you’re able to be confident in cutting back side 2 or the top and follow the same guidance for the next cut . ”
However , when left less clipped and allowed to maturate naturally , yew can also be a majuscule improver to a hedge for wildlife .
Of of course , since these Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree are tardily - grow , this also mean that a hedgerow could take much longer to establish , but yew Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree can still put on 30 cm of growth every year in good weather .
Yew hedge is typically trimmed once a year , commonly in the late summer .
Propagation Methods
Yew tree diagram can be grow from seed , but the most unwashed and easiest method of generation is by mean of cuttings .
you could take softwood press clipping , which is a Book of Job undertaken in other summer , or you could take semi - mature cuttings from belated summertime to early fall .
newspaper clipping provide offspring that are identical to the parent yew .
Yew Tree Care Guidelines
yew are slap-up low - sustentation plant and any maintenance , such as neat trimming or topiary techniques , will be optional .
These are not picky plants and they have very few extremely nonindulgent requirements .
Light , as we have already discussed , is not an surface area where yews are cross at all .
These Tree or shrub can grow just as well in deep shade as they can in partial shade or full Lord’s Day .
Yews are also kind of soil character and characteristics .
They can grow in any filth case except a overweight clay that has not been amended at all , as the only stipulation is that the soil must drain freely and can not become waterlogged .
However , even a toilsome clay can be suited for growing yew if it is amended with good deal of constitutional affair to improve drain .
Any pH is all right too and even though more acidulous soils are not ideal , they are still tolerate by these adaptable plant .
Yews should usually be watered during prolonged ironic spells while they are becoming established or when they are grown in containers .
Otherwise , natural rain should be sufficient .
These strong Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or bush do not typically need additional alimentation , as long as they are grown in fairly alimentary - plentiful healthy soil .
However , in containers and elsewhere if the growth seems inadequate , you’re able to view implement an constituent fertiliser in late winter .
