Wild yews(Taxus spp . ) sail through tough term , such as the scorching heat of northwestern Florida summers or the numbing frigidity of Himalayan winters , and they ’ve passed their staying power on to their cultivate descendants . Yew shrub cultivars produce in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 10 , depend on variety . Growing these well-off - care anchor plant has one major drawback : eating their bark , foliage or seeds may be fatal . Keep low children , dearie and farm animal off .
Feeding Your Yew
Wait a class after constitute to fertilize your yew shrub in early saltation . If you ’re in a frost - free area , feeding in late fall is acceptable . fertilise with 1/4- to 1/2 - inch mulch of well - composted manure ; increase that to 1 in if your soil is poor . diffuse the manure to the shrub ’s drip line , where rainfall fall from the out branches . Another pick is granular , high - nitrogen 12 - 6 - 4 fertilizer . Scratch the granule equally into the dirt around its base , maintain them at least 1 ft from the trunk and extending to the drip mold line . irrigate them in when you ’re done . provender 1/3 lb of fertilizer per 1 foot of the larger of your bush ’s width or height . If the larger mensuration is 5 feet , for example , use 1 2/3 Egyptian pound .
Water and Mulch
irrigate your yew weekly in dry weather for the first year after you plant it . During drought , or if your established yew grows beneath deep eaves or elsewhere that rain does n’t reach , weewee every week to 10 daylight during the springiness - to - later - fall grow time of year . Never irrigate enough that the soil gets soggy . The shrub also benefits from a 2- to 4 - column inch level of organic mulch , such as pine needle or chopped bark , around its base . The mulch keep back dirt wet and discourage weed . After breaking down , it also advance the soil ’s organic subject matter and — critical for your works ’s health — improves its drainage . Keep the mulch 6 inches from the trunk to keep unwanted moisture accumulation .
Spring Pruning
Yew shrubs typically postulate yearly pruning before their raw leaf emerges in former spring . Before make to work , consider your plant from a few feet aside to determine how to mold its surface . Using clean-living , sharp hand pruning hook or offset loppers , reduce offset stretch beyond the imagined finished surface back to where they join other branches . rationalise the shrub so its base is wider than its top . Also absent crossing or sideways - growing branches . To keep the bush symmetrical , remove all its vertical interior shoots except the strongest one , which becomes the drawing card . Although disease seldom bothers yew , wiping your creature down with an alcohol - dunk material between cuts prevents its accidental ranch .
Winter Care
abrasive wintertime shape , not pests or disease , are a yew shrub ’s downfall . In northern climates , exposure to strong wind or sun robs their foliage of more wet than their cold roots refill . To preclude wintertime burn , soak the top 2 feet of stain before it immobilise in spill , and treat the shrubs with a quick - to - use , organic anti - drying agent . One manufacturer recommends spraying when the temperature is above freeze and the liquid state has two or three hour of daylight to season it into a wet - retaining film . maintain the constitutive mulch through the winter stops frost heaving from uprooting small bush .
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