Who's successful growing Irish Yew in Zone 5?

If anyone out there in DG Land has successfully grown the Irish Yew (Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata'), I would love to know, especially those of you in Zone 5. I know of one beautiful specimen of what sure looks like Irish Yew here locally (Zone 5b), but can never find it for sale at any nursery. I can special order them, but didn't want to waste my money if they are hard to get to survive in this zone. Am I hoping for too much?

I've seen it killed in a severe winter on the zone 7 - zone 8 border. Don't think anyone will be growing it successfully long term in zone 5. The one you saw is more likely Taxus × media 'Hicksii' (hybrid of Irish Yew with the much hardier Japanese Yew).

Resin

I'm familiar with 'Hicks' yew, and have used it extensively on landscaping jobs. 'Hicks' foliage is a much lighter shade of green. That one and 'Capitata' yew, which is usually more pyramidal grown. Also, 'Adams' is another cultivar, but not as dark as this one that I think is an Irish Yew. The specimen I've seen is very dark, dark green... almost black-green. Very striking! It's made it through two bad winters here, one in the late 80s when we got a record -37º and last winter when it got to -12º. Perhaps it because it was not newly planted, but it's on the northwest corner of the home which normally would not be a warmer microclimate around here! I'll have to get a picture of it. It's extremely fastigate, much more so than either 'Hicks" or 'Adams'. (?????)

HoosierGreen:

Make a visit to the Secrest Arboretum over near Wooster, Ohio to really get an appreciation for the tolerance of Taxus clones to the extremes of midwest winter weather. If that's out of reach, take a gander at their website and plant records.

Back in the 1940s (I think), the Ag Experiment Station there planted out triplicates of the available Taxus clones. One was to never be pruned; one was to receive "light" pruning; and one was to be pruned like you had to keep it in a residential landscape. The results are stunning - at least from when I was regularly stopping in during the late '80s and early '90s. Most residential gardeners have no idea what dimensions a Taxus clone really wants to reach.

I give this prelude only so that you know I've actually seen these plants. There are more than a handful of very fastigiate Taxus clones, even after 40-50 years when I first observed these. The ones I remember:

Taxus x 'Viridis'
Taxus x 'Polaris'
Taxus x 'Slavin'

I'm sure there are more; these three are probably all Taxus x intermedia clones. I've used 'Viridis' myself; that's likely the one you are seeing. A good friend liked this so much he planted a hedge with 60 along his driveway. It is a very dark black green color.

I agree with Resin; not many Taxus baccata grown around here, except for the very refined clone Taxus baccata 'Repandens'. Staying low to the ground helps a lot when wicked winter weather wears out conifers.

I can't say for sure which clone or species you saw, but I've tried growing Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata' here in Eastern Kansas(zone 6) and it's never had a problem with the winters. I've lost them all during the beginning of the hot season(around mid June). By hot I mean, when temperatures here consistently hit 90ºF(32.2ºC) or above day in and day out. I did manage to nurse one through one summer, but it didn't look good and it promptly died the very next June when I didn't do any nursing with it. My feeling is that T. baccata in general doesn't like extreme temperatures of any kind, neither too hot, nor too cold, but that's just my hunch or maybe I just haven't tried or seen any that originated in the more Southerly part of it's native range which might take the heat.

Well, I'm going to plant four 3' ones this week. Cross your fingers along with me that they make it! In my zone 5b, perhaps the summers will be a little milder, but the winters a little colder than yours, kman_blue.

Good luck with them, HG. Take pictures of them as they are currently, as they grow in this year, and (fingers crossed) as they proceed through an IN winter.

From where are you procuring the three-footers that you will be planting?

Show us a picture of the specimen you are familiar with there, too.

Since I have my nurseryman's license, I ordered them through a local wholesale nursery I deal with. At least they were a little less expensive this way... $64 @ including shipping. I'll post pics of them and one of the beautiful specimen that got me drooling originally.

Do you know where they were grown (state, city...)? At the local wholesale nursery?

I was curious about their track record for tolerating cold up to the point where you will be tending them.

I'm sure they were grown in Oregon, in the Willamette Valley, which is a lot more mild than here, although they have had some heavy snows and low temps the last few years. I'm hoping that getting them planted so early this year will get them established, although I plan to wrap them in burlap the first winter. I have seen that those brave souls who have planted weeping Blue Atlas cedars have some sorry-looking plants now. They got very "burned" with the -12º we had in January, but they might grow out of it. I have seen two regular Blue Atlas cedars that seem to have made it through this past winter with flying colors. They've been in the ground for at least 10 years though, and are about 15' tall.

You could have had some Pinot Noir shipped with them...

Yes, Oregon's Willamette Valley is much more benign than around here. And, burned is one thing - outright death from IN low temps and incessant winter winds is another.

But - if you haven't killed it yourself, you just don't really know yet.