Anglojap yew

Anglojap yew: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Evergreen shrub up to about 3 m tall and 2 m wide; depending on the cultivar columnar, conical or low and spreading.

Needles

Flat, 1.5–3 cm long, glossy dark green with two paler bands underneath, arranged around the shoot or in a V shape.

Flowers

Small and inconspicuous, in March–April; male and female flowers are on separate plants.

Fruit

On female plants: a single seed in a red, fleshy, cup-shaped seed coat (aril), in September–October.

Roots

Fine and fairly shallow; very sensitive to waterlogging.

Growth

A little faster than common yew; in the first year after planting it mainly puts on roots.

Plants: April–May and September–October · Pruning: April, June and September

Why grow it?

• One of the best hedges: dense, dark green and solid all year round.
• Grows a little faster than common yew, so a hedge closes up sooner.
• Tolerates sun, partial shade and even deep shade, where few other hedges do well.
• Regrows from old wood: an overgrown hedge can be cut back hard.
• Birds like to nest in the dense branches and eat the red arils.
• Ideal for topiary: balls, cones, blocks and columns.

Anglojap yew: where does it grow best?

• Sun, partial shade or shade: it does well anywhere, even under trees or on the north side of a wall.
• Any well-drained soil: sand, loam or clay, acid to chalky.
• Dry to moderately moist. It will not stand waterlogging or a spot where water lies: the roots die.
• For a hedge: 3–4 plants per metre; as a single shrub allow 2 m.
• Do not plant it next to a field with horses, cattle, sheep or goats: the needles are deadly to them.

Light

Sun, partial shade and shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

3 m tall, 2 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -30 °C)

Goes well with

• Roses: A dark green hedge makes flowering roses in front of it stand out.
• Ornamental grasses: Light, swaying plumes against a crisp green backdrop.
• Japanese anemone: White or pink flowers in late summer, lovely against the dark green.
• Ferns: Also shade-tolerant: a fresh green underplanting beside topiary in shade.
• Snowdrop: White accents at the foot of the hedge in February.

Anglojap yew: when and how to plant it?

Plant in April–May and September–October.

1. Plant in April–May or September–October, when the soil is neither frozen nor waterlogged.
2. For a hedge, dig a trench 40–50 cm wide and deep and loosen the bottom so that water drains away well.
3. Mix some compost into the soil you dug out.
4. Set the plants at the same depth as before, 3–4 per metre, and firm the soil well.
5. Water in thoroughly straight away, then regularly in dry spells during the first year.
6. Spread a mulch of compost or wood chips along the hedge.

Care

Water

In the first year, and especially the first summer, regularly in dry spells: a young yew dries out quickly. Once established it copes well with drought.

Feeding

In March–April, some compost or an organic hedge fertiliser.

Mulching

A layer of compost or wood chips keeps the soil along a young hedge moist and weed-free.

Clippings

Clear them up straight away and never throw them over the fence to animals: they stay poisonous even when wilted.

Snow

Shake heavy, wet snow off columnar plants and hedges, or the branches will splay open.

Tip: Never plant yew where water lies: waterlogging is the main reason it dies. Clip in June and September and keep the hedge slightly narrower at the top so it stays dense at the base.

Anglojap yew: when to prune it?

Pruning months: April, June and September.

When: Clip a hedge in June and again in September. Hard renovation pruning is done in April.

How:

• Clip the hedge slightly narrower at the top than at the base, so the bottom gets light and stays dense.
• On a young hedge, trim only the sides and let the top grow on until it reaches the height you want.
• An over-wide hedge can be cut back to the main stems in April: yew regrows from old wood. Do one side this year and the other side next year.
• Wash your hands after pruning and clear up the clippings straight away.

Caution: All clippings are highly poisonous, even when wilted. Keep them away from children, pets and grazing animals.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In August–October: 10–15 cm cuttings of semi-ripe or ripe shoots, lower needles removed, in moist cutting compost in a cold frame. They root slowly, often only after several months.

Seed

Possible, but seed germinates slowly, often only after two winters, and gives plants that differ from the parent. For an even hedge, buy plants raised from cuttings.

Anglojap yew: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −30 °C.

• Fully hardy to about −30 °C: no protection needed in Belgium.
• In hard frost with sun and wind, young plants can get brown needles. Water in a dry autumn so they go into winter well watered.
• Shake heavy snow off columnar plants and hedges so the branches do not splay open.
• In a pot: keep it out of the wind and water now and then if the compost dries out.

Diseases and pests

• Root rot: Branches turn yellow or brown and die, often on wet soil. Improve drainage or plant in a drier spot; remove dead plants together with the soil around the roots.
• Vine weevil: Nibbled needles and shoots; the grubs eat the roots, so plants turn brown and become loose. Use nematodes against the grubs in spring or late summer.
• Scale insects: Brown shells on the shoots and a sticky coating with black sooty mould on the needles. Brush them off or cut out affected shoots.
• Brown patches in the hedge: Caused by waterlogging, drought in young plants, frost with wind or dog urine. Find the cause; yew usually regrows from old wood.

Through the year

• March: Give compost or hedge fertiliser.
• April: Plant. Renovation pruning of an overgrown hedge.
• May: Plant. Nematodes against vine weevil if needed.
• June: First clip. Clear up clippings straight away.
• July: Water young hedges in dry spells.
• August: Take cuttings. Nematodes against vine weevil in late summer.
• September: Second clip. Plant. Red arils on female plants.
• October: Plant. Water in a dry autumn.
• December: Shake heavy snow off the hedge.

Edible and useful

Not edible. All parts of yew are highly poisonous except the sweet red flesh around the seeds; but the seed inside is deadly: so do not eat the berries either, and teach children to leave them alone. Horses and cattle in particular die from yew, including from hedge clippings: never leave them in a field or along a fence. If any is swallowed, call a poison centre (in Belgium 070 245 245) or your doctor at once.

Good for wildlife

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• Taxus × media arose around 1900 in Massachusetts, where the gardener T. D. Hatfield crossed European and Japanese yew.
• The red ‘berry’ is not a true berry but a fleshy seed coat around a single poisonous seed. Birds eat the flesh and spread the seed undamaged.
• Yew is one of the few conifers that regrows from old, bare wood after hard pruning.