Pot Grown English Yew
(Taxus baccata)

The English Yew hedge plant is an evergreen species with an attractive, stylish appearance. The plant expresses bold green foliage in spring, following with small red fruits in the Autumn season- which look very pretty in appearance, and the birds love to enjoy, but are harmful to humans, livestock, and animals.

Sitting as a true British classic, the Yew is the most popular and well-known conifer hedge, as it is greatly admired for its ease of maintenance and year-in, year-out interest. The plant is also perfect for creating eye catching topiary shapes, as the needle-like and compact foliage is very easy to trim, meaning you can easily get highly creative with the shapes you trim.

It is the perfect hedge for small and large gardens, just the same.

The King of Hedges can be seen as an excellent boundary hedge for any size of garden, as it grows at an average rate of around 30-40cm per year (being easy to maintain at 1-5m). Once the Yew has reached your desired height, it can be incredibly easy to maintain. As the plant can get so high, it can be exceptionally good as acting as a barrier to noise and wind, making it ideal for urban areas.

During the first few seasons of growth, the plant will need a lot of water to be its best and healthiest version of itself, however it is very important to ensure it does not become waterlogged. Apart from this, the English Yew is a hardy plant that is very easy to grow and maintain, and can easily adapt to many types of soil, particularly alkaline. It can be perfect if you are limited in the availability of sunlight in your garden (it is great for any shade sites) and just right if you are being faced with some tricky positions.

• Growth Rate: Slow (10-20cm per year)
• Ideal Height: 2.5m + High
• Soil type: Normal
• Exposure: Exposed, inland
• Aspect: Sun, Full shade
• Evergreen foliage? Yes

As it is pot grown, you can easily leave the plant in its pot for a few days/weeks before planting it. Just ensure you keep the plant well-watered, and it gets enough sun. Don't leave it for too long, however, as you don't want the roots becoming root bound.

The general hedge trimming for the English Yew should only be done twice a year- in early June, and then again in late September. It is also very important to ensure you prune at the right time to guarantee you do not remove any new growing shoots.

1. Prepare the soil by mixing in some compost. Dig the hole- this will have to be about twice the width of the root system, but the same depth.
2. Remove the plant from its pot by placing one hand on the base of the plant, and the other at the bottom of the pot. Wriggle the pot away gently.
3. Untangle the roots a little as they may be clumped together.
4. Place the plant into the hole, ensuring the base of the stem is level with the surface of the soil. Follow this with backfilling the hole with your soil mix, and patting down to lightly secure.
5. When you're done, thoroughly water the plant. Ensure you regularly water throughout its first year, as the plant needs plenty to be able to settle down, recover, and establish.