Columnar Yew Planting

Columnar yew (Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata' and its relatives) is the hedge of the classic stately garden: deep green, dense, happy in even the narrowest of spaces, and it grows beautifully in shade – where most evergreens give up.

Yew is our longest-lived hedge plant, and it has one unique talent: it can re-sprout even from old wood – so even a hedge cut back hard will renew itself. It grows more slowly (20–30 cm a year), but in return needs little trimming and holds its perfect shape for decades. Thanks to its shade tolerance it is the ideal plant for north-facing walls and strips beneath large trees. We plant at 50–70 cm spacing in a nutrient-rich medium, taking care over drainage, as yew will not tolerate waterlogging. Good to know: yew is poisonous – for gardens with small children or livestock nearby, we will suggest an alternative at the survey. The plants are covered by our guarantee.