I am thinking of putting in a pyramidal Japanese yew Capitata on the east side of my house. My question is how small can I keep it? I would like it to stay about 2.5 feet wide by 3-4 feet tall. Is this possible? I had one in the same position which was there when we moved into the house. It had gotten holes in it from the weight of snow in the winter and gotten sparse at the bottom, so I took it out. The formal shape and color looked so pretty in the winter, though. I replaced it with a Steeds holly but the green leaves looked dull in the winter compared with the "Yuletide" look of the yew. I know you have to clip the end of pyramidal yew branches in a staggered pattern rather than shearing to let some light into the interior. How long could I keep this up before the shrub starts getting holes again? Is there a better yew variety to get?
How small can I maintain a pyramidal yew?
I have been thinking of trying a yew as well - not a trained one as you are considering, but a specimen and accent tree - and would love to hear from people as to whether one might do well here in Middle Tennessee.
Should be OK; yews will tolerate heavy trimming.
Resin
Thanks for the advice, Resin. Guess I'll just go for it (pyramidals yews seem to be on the expensive side compared to other evergreens at the nursery, I guess because they come starting at a relatively big size.)
Rebeccatowoc, my observation is that yews are one of the most common shrubs here in New England, probably because they are one of the few things that look alive during the winter!! I don't know about TN, but I assume they would do great there as well. I have a line of them in the back yard which are now about 9 feet high. We trim them every year in a pyramidal shape.
Thank you, ilovedahlias. I bet your yews are beautiful.
I am thinking of putting in a pyramidal Japanese yew Capitata on the east side of my house. My question is how small can I keep it? [b] I would like it to stay about 2.5 feet wide by 3-4 feet tall. Is this possible? [/b]
I had one in the same position which was there when we moved into the house. It had gotten holes in it from the weight of snow in the winter and gotten sparse at the bottom, so I took it out. The formal shape and color looked so pretty in the winter, though. I replaced it with a Steeds holly but the green leaves looked dull in the winter compared with the "Yuletide" look of the yew.
I know you have to clip the end of pyramidal yew branches in a staggered pattern rather than shearing to let some light into the interior. How long could I keep this up before the shrub starts getting holes again? Is there a better yew variety to get?
The capitata yew is an excellent variety.
You can clip them forever - they should never develop 'holes' (dead zones) if you don't shear them.
Yes, it is possible to keep them to your prefered size.
Thank-you, JustMe48. That is great to hear that I should be able to keep up the shape of the capitata yew for a long time. I guess what I had before must have been an English yew? It had more flat fronds rather than leaves pointing out all around the stem.
I am going to sit tight this winter and look at my garden through the winter before making my final decision--something I should have done the first two years instead of yanking everything out immediately and planting new all at once during the spring and summer months!
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