In recent years no evergreen has enjoyed a greater rise in popularity than the adaptable and versatile yew.
For home gardens, both large and small, in the cold and warm sections of the country, yews have become an indispensable part of the landscape picture.
If they were to be eliminated from all the evergreens, a serious gap would result that no other plant could fill properly.
Different Groups of Yew
Japanese Yews
Perhaps the most important of the yews, certainly in the colder areas where it is hardy, is the Japanese yew (Tatars cuspidata) and its many variations. Of the tribe, it is the hardest, except for the Native American yew (T. canadensis).
Furthermore, it can withstand shade (often rather dense), seashore exposure, dry spells, effects from winter sun and wind, poor proximity to buildings, poor air circulation, and adverse city conditions.
English Yew
The English yew (T. baccata) and its several varieties are less hardy and can be grown along the eastern seaboard, generally south of New York City, as well as all along the West Coast, where the climate is generally mild and less severe.
This is the famous yew of Europe, where it has been under cultivation for centuries, with the result that there are almost hundreds of forms and variations.
One particular variety, however, the Spreading English yew (T. baccata repandens), considered the hardiest, will grow north of New York City in the company of the Japanese yews.
Anglojap Yew
There is another important group of yews, stemming from a cross between the Japanese and English yews, known as the ‘Intermediate or Anglojap yew (T. media) and its variations.
Here belong the well-known upright yews, the familiar Hicks and Hatfield varieties.
Japanese Yew
Twenty-five years ago, the average homeowner was familiar with only the straight Japanese yew. As it came into use, only two kinds were commonly planted, the typical, broad-spreading type (T. cuspidata) and the tall, upright pyramidal form of Japanese yew (T. cuspidata capitata).
Today, there are so many variations of all kinds of yews that even the expert becomes confused trying to keep them straight.
What if the homeowner is trying to select the proper types for his garden or foundation planting? By studying their forms, however, he can easily select those suitable to his particular needs and situations.
These two yews, although still planted to a large extent, are being replaced by dwarfed, more compact kinds.
Both of these grow too large, and unless one has plenty of space for them to spread, they should not be planted when others are available. The Japanese yew itself is a large tree, attaining a height of 40′ to 50′ feet in its native habitat.
Best Way To Study Various Forms
The best way to study the various forms of yews is to consider them in groups according to their ultimate or typical size.
This, of course, varies according to locality and-cultural conditions. The classification is as follows:
- Low (1′ to 4′ feet)
- Small (4 to 6 feet)
- Medium (6′ to 10′ feet)
- Large (10′ to 25′ feet or more)
There are other subdivisions within these and a great many representatives, but here we shall mention some of the best, as well as those readily available.
Spreading English Yew
In the first group, a truly outstanding member is the Spreading English yew (T. baccata repandens), the hardiest of the English yews. It is noted for its wide-spreading habit and characteristic drooping branchlets.
Also highly recommended is the Cushion Japanese yew (T. c. densa), a low shrub that is often as broad as it is high.
Very slow growing, it has many uses, ranging from key positions in the foundation planting to the rock garden. Dwarf and compact, it is also rounded in form.
Dwarf Japanese Yew
The Dwarf Japanese yew (T. c. nana), also a slow grower, is another low type of the first group that is flat-topped rather than rounded.
Known for its irregular form and faster-growing habit than the Cushion Japanese yew, it can be distinguished from the common type, with which gardeners often confuse it, by its needles which are arranged around the twigs. In the typical form, the needles are flat and in rank.
Although the Dwarf Japanese yew is one of the mainstays among the low-growing, spreading yews, the Ward Anglojap yew (T. media wardi), with finer foliage, is superior to it. It is also faster growing but possesses a dense, compact habit and a flat top.
Yet another desirable low form, compact in habit, with a flat top, is the Prostrate Japanese yew (T. c. prostrata). Growing broader than high, it tends to be somewhat open and loose.
Golden Tip Japanese Yew
The second group likewise consists of small types, with plants that range from four to six feet in height. Some of these are slow-growing, others are more rapid. Similarly, some are spreading and others upright in form.
Yet, all belong in the category of small yews that have innumerable uses in our gardens, where they are effective throughout the year with their dark green foliage.
One of these is the Gold Tip Japanese yew (T. c. aurescens), so called because the new growth is yellowish.
By summer, it turns light green, and by fall, it becomes almost normal green in color. The Brown Anglojap yew (T. media brown, one of the best, is slow growing and bushy.
It has a graceful V-shaped form and may be used in foundation planting or as a hedge. The Kelsey Anglojap yew (T. in. Kelseyi), a wide, dense, compact variety, has very dark green foliage.
Hunnewell Yew
Others in this group, but more rapidly growing, are the Hunnewell yew (T. hunnewelliana), a rapid grower of spreading habit, and the Anderson Anglojap yew (T. m. andersoni, which is probably the fastest grower among the yews. It has a broad, bushy, spreading form.
Spreading Japanese Yew
Then there is the Spreading Japanese yew (T. c. expansa), a name given to seedlings of the common Japanese yew (T. cuspidata) with a V shape. Plants also have an open center with no central leaders.
In this group belongs the Thayer yew (T. c. thayerae), noted for its expansive form, with widespread branches that are almost horizontal. Plants are twice as broad as they are tall.
Irish Yew
Of the upright growers, the Irish yew (T. b. stricta) is outstanding in this group. Undoubtedly, it is one of the most picturesque of all yews, with its distinct upright narrow form that makes a perfect accent wherever used.
Belonging to the English group of yews, it is tender in the northern part of the country.
One of the most popular and useful members of the family is the Hick’s yew (T. m. hicksi), which ascends almost vertically, with a main stem filled with numerous branches. It is rather narrow, somewhat columnar habit makes it distinctive and suitable for formal uses, as well as hedges.
Plants retain this slender form until five or six feet high and then begin to broaden as they get older. The variety is also known to resist both heat and drought better than other forms.
Hatfield Yew
The third group of yews consists of types that are classified as medium. Fewer in number, they range in height from 6′ to 10′ feet. The outstanding representative is the popular Hatfield yew (T. media hatfieldi), a plant suited to many uses.
This superb variety is so called because it was originated by the late T. D. Hatfield, superintendent at the renowned Hunnewell estate in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Upright, and conical in habit, as well as dense, there are many forms of it, all of which are good.
Upright Japanese Yew
The fourth group consists of large types, 10 to 25, or more, feet tall. There are two excellent broadly pyramidal members, the Upright Japanese yew (T. c. capitata), with wide spreading branches and loose, open habit, and the Column Japanese yew (T. c. columnaris), a rapidly growing, open plant that requires frequent pruning.
Popular For Many Reasons
Yews are deservedly popular for many reasons. They have glossy, dark green needles which are attractive all year round, but especially in the winter when the garden is bare.
One of the lowliest sights of spring is the new growth of yew, a soft, light green, which contrasts vividly with the deeper tones of the older-green needles.
Yews are also popular because they grow in sun or shade. They do equally well in either situation, though they become more dense in the sun.
They are among the few needle evergreens that can be planted in the shade of trees or buildings, and in fact, the species best suited to deep shade is our native Canada yew (T. canadensis), a creeping kind that makes an excellent ground cover under large trees.
Culture of Yew
The culture of Yews is simple. Though they thrive in a variety of soils, they flourish in soil well enriched with organic matter.
They are planted, always with a ball of soil, in spring, late summer, and fall, and any time they are not growing actively. They can also take pruning or clipping to keep them compact or at the desired height.
This is best done in the summer after the new growth has hardened, although twigs and small branches may be removed at any time during the year. Yews also make excellent formal, neatly clipped hedges.
New Growth Around Base
Another desirable feature is their habit of producing new growth around the base of plants.
Overgrown specimens cut back drastically to the point where only large branches or stumps remain and will fill in eventually with new foliage.
This will not occur when the same is done with overgrown arborvitae, hemlock, or spruce plants, particularly in the foundation planting, where they get leggy because of insufficient sunshine and air.
Pests and diseases are few, but two insects may offer trouble from time to time. One is the mealy bug, found in the east on all kinds of yews, particularly on dwarf, compact kinds.
The white insects gather on the trunks and lower branches and on the ends of the twigs. Spraying with nicotine sulfate or malathion is a control measure.
Black Vine Weevil
The black vine weevil, a small black or brownish insect with a short snout, may also attack plants. Adults feed on the foliage during the night and hide in the soil during the clay.
More injury, however, is caused by the small, whitish, curved grubs that feed on the plants’ roots, often devouring them completely. To kill, spray plants, foliage, and soil in late June when adults emerge with chlordane.
44659 by George Taloumis