Common Yew (Taxus baccata) Hedge Plants 15-30cm

Common Yew Hedge Plants – Taxus baccata

If you are thinking of using Yew trees for hedging, then you have made a good choice. Common English Yew hedge plants produce a dense, dark-green evergreen hedge that can be maintained at almost any practical height, looks good, tolerates full sun, shade, and most soils, can be very hard-pruned, and has something in common with Spock because they live long and prosper. ^[1][2]

These are ideal hedges for year-round privacy, noise reduction, marking a boundary, topiary, cold sites, supporting wildlife, and sheltering a garden from the wind.

Only female trees will grow the red berries, and as our cell-grown Yew are grown from seed then your order will have a random mix of male and female plants. If the berries are a big reason for your Yew purchase, then you need to know that they won't appear until at least 7 years old and if you regularly clip them, you will get harldy any, if at all, because you will have cut the flowers off.

Comparing Yew Hedging Plants to Leylandii

When comparing an overgrown Yew hedge to Leylandii from a pruning perspective, the Yew wins hands down because the Yew can usually be cut back into old, leafless wood and it will grow back. Most conifers do not regrow from old brown wood; the RHS identifies Yew as a notable exception. Cutting Leylandii beyond its green growth can therefore leave permanent brown areas. ^{[1][2][6][21]}

Yew Topiary and Formal Hedging

Yew’s dense evergreen foliage, fine texture and tolerance of repeated pruning make it one of the best plants for trimmed hedges, i.e. topiary. It can be trained into straight-sided hedges, geometric shapes, arches and even the likeness of your other half. Its ability to regenerate from old wood allows you to go wild with your hedge-trimming designs because mistakes grow back. ^[1][6]

The Disadvantages of an English Yew Hedge

We know, it sounded too good to be true; there must be downsides, and there are.

It is slower to establish and grow than Leylandii, intolerant of waterlogged soil, and toxic when eaten. These issues are, of course, not a problem so long as you are not impatient, your garden is not borderline being listed as a wetland or you have a habit of eating hedges when hungry.

Do Yew Hedges Reduce Noise?

The short answer is yes, and they are much more useful than shoving the berries in your ears. The RHS reports that vegetation shelter belts, including hedgerows, can potentially reduce noise by up to 8dB which, when converted to “useful language”, means it can cut some noises by almost 50%. Research that included Taxus baccata found that hedge foliage produced its greatest transmission losses at middle and higher sound frequencies. ^[3][4]

How Fast Does a Yew Hedge Grow?

Yew hedge growth rate is around 20–30cm of new growth a year during favourable conditions. Common Yew is slower than Leylandii (up to 100cm a year) and should not be chosen where the only objective is the fastest possible tall screen. ^[1][2]

How to Make Yew Grow Faster

Favourable growing conditions include:

• Full sun or light shade
• Deep, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil
• No prolonged waterlogging
• Reliable watering while the plants establish
• A vegetation-free planting strip
• Limited competition from grass, weeds and established tree roots

Yew survives deep shade, but reduced light restricts photosynthesis and normally produces slower growth. Competition from established tree roots can further reduce the water and nutrients available to a young hedge.

Does Yew Grow in Shade?

Yes. The RHS lists Taxus baccata for full sun, partial shade, and full shade. It is one of the most dependable evergreen hedge plants for shaded gardens. ^[1]

Shade tolerance does not mean will grow just as fast as in full sun. A deeply shaded Yew hedge usually develops more slowly than one receiving good daylight. We think this means Taxus baccata is also very good at dealing with solar eclipses.

What Soil Is Best for Taxus baccata?

Taxus baccata grows in chalk, clay, loam and sandy soils across acid, neutral and alkaline pH ranges, provided the ground drains adequately. It does not tolerate persistent waterlogging. ^[1][6]

Scientific evidence identifies deep, moist sandy loams and well-drained clay soils as particularly favourable. Growth is poorer on very dry, rocky or excessively sandy ground. ^[2]

What Is Sandy Loam?

Soil texture is determined by the relative proportions of sand, silt and clay. Sandy loam contains all three but has a comparatively high proportion of sand. ^[7]

In practical terms, suitable sandy loam:

• Drains more freely than heavy clay
• Retains more moisture and nutrients than almost pure sand
• Does not remain saturated after rain
• Does not dry immediately after watering

The term does not mean beach-like sand. Soil containing excessive sand and little organic matter can drain too rapidly for the fastest Yew growth.

How Hardy Is Common Yew?

The RHS gives Taxus baccata an H7 hardiness rating. H7 is the highest category in the RHS system and indicates tolerance of temperatures below −20°C under suitable growing conditions. ^[1][8]

Common Yew is therefore suitable for severe European continental winters and cold, exposed inland positions.

Is Yew Salt Tolerant?

Common Yew tolerates ordinary exposure but should not be described as reliably salt tolerant. Research records foliage damage from salt-laden winds approximately five kilometres inland and identifies Yew as sensitive to airborne salt spray and salt-water immersion. It is therefore unsuitable for positions exposed to regular salt spray. ^[2]

How to Plant a Yew Hedge

Prepare a continuous planting strip free of grass or weeds and loosen compacted soil before planting. Do not just clear a small circular patch of grass and weeds because the remaining plants will compete for water and nutrients.

Plant each Yew at approximately the same depth at which it was previously growing. Do not bury the stem or sink the root system into a hollow where water can collect.

Water the root area thoroughly after planting. Continue checking the soil during dry weather for the first two years after planting. Yew becomes drought tolerant once established, but newly planted hedging still requires reliable moisture. ^[6][21]

Do not plant into persistently waterlogged ground. Improve the drainage or select a species better suited to wet soil.

How Many Yew Plants per Metre?

Plant small Yew hedge plants approximately 45–60cm apart. ^[6][9]

The closer they are, the sooner the Yew trees knit together, but the expense is higher, as is competition for nutrients and water.

A single row is normally sufficient for an ordinary garden boundary hedge. ^[9] For a double staggered row, it may sound obvious, but you need twice as many.

How to Make a Yew Hedge Bush Out

During the first two years, trim long or untidy side shoots while leaving the main leading shoot uncut until the hedge approaches its intended height. The RHS recommends this formative pruning method for evergreen hedges. ^[6][10]

Repeatedly removing the leader while trying to gain height encourages branching but delays upward development.

When to Prune Yew

For a crisp formal Yew hedge (one that is regularly pruned and kept tidy, not one covered in thin fried potato slices), the RHS recommends trimming twice: once in summer and again in autumn. A less formal hedge may require less frequent trimming. ^[10]

Check carefully for active bird nests before starting. It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to intentionally to damage or destroy an active wild-bird nest. ^[11]

How to Prune a Yew Hedge

Maintain a tapered or “battered” hedge shape, with the base slightly wider than the top. This helps more light reach the lower branches, helping the hedge remain leafy near ground level. ^[10]

Can Yew Be Cut Back Hard?

As we have already said, yes, you can prune back hard because Yew will grow from old wood, which makes it stand out from other evergreen hedge trees. What you should know and remember is that renovating a severely overgrown Yew hedge should be done in stages rather than cutting every side hard at once. This retains some green foliage while the reduced sections recover. ^[1][2][6]

Is a Yew Hedge Poisonous?

Yew is poisonous when plant material is eaten. Its leaves, bark and seeds—not the red flesh surrounding the seeds—contain taxine compounds that can disrupt the heart’s normal rhythm and can cause severe or fatal poisoning in people and animals. ^[1][5][12]

The principal risk to people and pets is ingestion. The RHS advises wearing gloves when handling Yew, while the HTA’s harmful-plants guide classifies Yew as toxic if eaten and does not label it a skin irritant or allergen. ^[1][6][22]

Do Yew Roots Damage Buildings?

You probably had a sharp intake of breath and envisioned your house disappearing down a sinkhole caused by a recently planted Yew hedge. Let’s try to give some perspective on this because no one we could find would commit to a black-and-white answer.

The risk is mostly from water being removed from shrinkable clay soil, which causes it to shrink and can then cause subsidence. ^[18] We know this can happen based on court cases such as Khan and Khan v Harrow Council and Helen Sheila Kane. A 10m-tall Lawson Cypress hedge planted only 50cm from the neighbouring house was found to be the cause of subsidence. ^[19] That is a lot of tree line removing a lot of water and is very different from a standard 2m-tall Yew hedge.

On the positive side, the RHS says most trees and hedges near buildings cause no damage. It suggests that, in a subsidence-prone area, a hedge should be maintained at a height no greater than its distance from the building. ^[18] This is most relevant on shrinkable clay soil, particularly where buildings have shallow foundations.

We also looked for court cases and other evidence that Yew hedging was the cause of any damage and could find nothing.

Yew roots are unlikely to penetrate sound concrete foundations or sound, watertight drains. They can enter existing cracks, leaking joints and defective clay pipes, where subsequent root growth may cause a blockage. Surface roots can, however, lift paving and other lightweight structures as most tree roots do. ^[18]

As with everyone else, we cannot say definitively that you can plant Yew hedges close to every building, but as homeowners we would have no qualms doing so based on the above and other conversations we have had.

Wildlife Benefits of a Yew Hedge

Dense Yew foliage provides year-round shelter and nesting cover for birds. The Woodland Trust records blackbirds, mistle thrushes, song thrushes and fieldfares eating the red fruits. Small mammals also eat them, while the foliage supports satin beauty moth caterpillars. ^[5]

“But the seeds are toxic,” you may exclaim confusingly at the screen—and you would be correct.

The red flesh around each seed contains no taxines and is safe for suitable wildlife to eat. Fruit-eating birds and mammals generally swallow the hard seed whole, digest the red flesh and then excrete or regurgitate the seed intact. Because the seed is not chewed or broken, its poisonous contents are not released. This also disperses the seed and allows new Yew plants to establish elsewhere. ^[2][20]

For a regularly tightly clipped hedge, you will likely be removing any flowers that turn into berries so your wildlife benefits amount to shelter with no food which is also what happens when you expect teenagers to do the shopping.

Taxus baccata Diseases

Common Yew is generally dependable, but buyers should recognise the following problems.

Phytophthora Root Rot

Phytophthora root rot is caused by microscopic, fungus-like organisms that live in soil and attack plant roots. Yew is particularly susceptible when planted in wet, compacted or poorly drained ground. ^[13]

Possible symptoms include:

• Foliage changing from dark green to dull green, grey or brown
• Wilting despite wet soil
• Sparse foliage
• Branch dieback
• Fine feeder roots rotting away
• Larger roots becoming brown or black internally
• Roots becoming soft or breaking easily

These symptoms can resemble waterlogging, drought damage or honey fungus. Laboratory examination may be required for a reliable diagnosis. ^[13]

There is no chemical treatment available to home gardeners. Avoid persistently wet ground, correct drainage problems before planting and remove severely affected plants and infected root material. ^[13]

Vine Weevil

Vine-weevil larvae can damage potted and recently planted Yews by eating their roots.

Signs include:

• Irregular notches around leaf edges
• Plants wilting despite adequate moisture
• Cream-white, C-shaped larvae with brown heads in the compost or soil
• Root loss, particularly between autumn and spring

Adult vine weevils are approximately 9mm long, black and mainly active at night. Adults can be collected after dark. Biological controls containing beneficial nematodes are available for the larvae and must be applied at the correct soil temperature. ^[14]

Yew Scale

Yew scale insects appear as dark-brown, shell-like growths approximately 3–6mm long attached to stems or foliage.

Heavy infestations may cause:

• Reduced vigour
• Foliage loss
• Sticky honeydew
• Black sooty mould growing on the honeydew

Light populations are often controlled by natural predators and do not automatically require treatment. ^[15]

Tortrix Moth Caterpillars

Tortrix caterpillars join leaves or shoots together with silk and feed from inside the shelter.

Small infestations can normally be removed by hand. A healthy established Yew hedge usually tolerates limited feeding. ^[16]

Yew Big-Bud Mite

The Yew big-bud mite, Cecidophyopsis psilaspis, lives inside the buds and can cause them to become enlarged or distorted. Heavily infested buds may fail to open in spring; lighter infestations can produce distorted needles and shoots. Examine swollen buds with a magnifying glass if confirmation is needed. Prune out and destroy affected branches. ^[23]

Honey Fungus

Possible signs of honey fungus include:

• Declining foliage
• Branch death
• White fungal sheets beneath loose bark near the base
• Dark, bootlace-like strands around roots
• Clusters of honey-coloured mushrooms during autumn

Mushrooms are not produced in every case. There is no curative treatment for an infected Yew. Remove the affected plant and as much infected root and stump material as practicable. ^[17]