If you ’re a householder with shrubs , chances are , one or more of them are yews . These soft , flat - needle shrubs are easy to defend and attractive all year round . If you ’ve chosen the right assortment , you should seldom have to prune it . If yours is overgrown due to years of undisciplined " bolting , " though , you may be think about renovating it . Yews stand ponderous pruning well than many conifers but follow these uncomplicated footfall to increase the probability of success with yours .
Step 1
Shear twigs back with a hedge trimmer or manus shears to erstwhile wood in previous winter while the overgrown shrub is dormant . bring down branches by one - third to one - half their peak to remold it .
Step 2
Round the edges around the top of the inning of overgrown shrubs . Many shrub yews , given their heads , will farm " flat tops " that fascinate Baron Snow of Leicester and leaves , pulling outer branches down and often breaking them .
Step 3
Trim arm tip that suddenly bourgeon up ( call up abscond ) after winter pruning so the yew makes no overall outgrowth but only fills in unornamented spot . An additional trim in mid - June or early July will keep it from setting out Modern branches from which to bolt next spring .
Step 4
Prune back gradually if possible , film half the branch back each wintertime while the yew is dormant . After 3 year , you will have reduced the size of the shrub substantially .
Tip
Yews bolt in the natural spring after they begin their one-year growth . In society to keep yours neat , trim them when the wan light-green increase tips begin to come along . heavily pruning will goad healthy bush to maturate faster the next spring . Keep them in boundary by clip back growth lead in spring and shearing back decamp wind in early summer to keep your shrub compact . Although some expert say that abbreviate yew back all at once is acceptable , the shrub will calculate ugly for several eld until they ’ve had a probability to grow out . If this extreme pruning seems to be your only option , do it in late winter so some shoots can get going in the spring . Better still , remove the yew and buy one that is the correct size for its place in your landscape painting . Yews are available in varieties whose mature pattern range from 4 - foot - square shrub to 50 - foot - tall tree diagram .
Warning
wear upon glove and prospicient sleeves when trimming yews ; their sap can be get at in cuts or scrapes . Spread a tarpaulin or piece of paper under them to captivate and contain fixings because their foliage contains toxins .
