TREES > YEW > PRUNING
IN THIS GUIDE
YEW GUIDES
Pruning
Yew is one of the few aboriginal coniferous tree we have here in the British Isles and it is pop for use in gardens , whether that ’s as a stand - alone specimen , in a natural form , as a topiary or as hedging .
It can be a great low-down - maintenance choice for a range of situations and circumstances .
One thing that you do need to study is how to prune yew in different setting in your garden – and the instructions are somewhat different depending on the anatomy you desire your yew to take .
We propose on how to prune yew in each of these different scenarios , below .
Do You Need To Prune Yew Trees?
Yew left to their own devices develop into majestic and very enceinte Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
If you have sufficient blank then you may sure enough choose to leave a yew to grow naturally without much pruning at all .
However , most of the time yews in gardens are grown in unlike pattern and maintaining those dissimilar forms will , of course , command at least some pruning .
You should cut back yew that are in specific upright forms , especially where space is limited .
You should also rationalise yew trees grown as hedges and those that are grown in topiary form .
When To Prune Yew
Yews are often pruned in the late summertime or other autumn when you are just cut or keep things slackly in human body .
“ Yew is a vigorous agriculturist , once establish , ” says Bill Irving , the Director of Boxtrees Nursery Ltd.
“ For standard garden hedges , bring down once a year in former summer or other autumn , whilst quondam plants in general react to pruning in late spring . ”
Hard cutting back should also be gestate out in spring .
When you are keeping yew in very tight control condition , you might crop several sentence over the spring and summer .
The more frequently a yew hedge is trimmed , the denser , tight and flatter its surface will be , but Bill warns against trim too frequently :
“ Minimise trimming where possible and allow the plant a more natural shape and conformation .
“ plant clipped very tightly incline to experience more job . ”
Pruning Yew Hedges
When it add up to yew hedges , there are several different types of pruning that you might undertake .
First of all , if you have a newly planted yew hedge , you will likely have to recall about shaping pruning .
Formative pruning with yew hedgerow is important because it further a square , good and thick hedging form .
shaping pruning is usually carried out in the wintertime or early leaping .
When a yew hedging is first set , the top shoot is provide unpruned , but straggle side shoot are cut back softly .
In summertime , side shoots are then trimmed and the leading shoot is tie into a reenforcement bet or cane as it grow .
Once a yew hedge is plant , you will move on to the main maintenance pruning .
This will broadly involve cutting back the yew hedging once a year in later summer or early autumn , though it can also involve cutting back 2 - 3 times a twelvemonth for a neater and more formal effect .
“ How often you cut back a Yew hedge will also depend on its size and location , ” sound out Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly .
“ A pocket-sized hedgerow skirt a path will involve to be cut back more often than a large hedge at the back of a border , for case . ”
According to the RHS , Yew trees can grow up to around 30cmin a yr – but trim down once a year will loosely keep your yew hedge in check.1How to rise yew / RHS Gardening . ( n.d . ) . Royal Horticultural Society . Retrieved April 26 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/yew/growing-guide
However , more regular pruning will keep the surface of the hedging dense and smooth .
If a yew hedge has been neglected and you bid to reduce it in size , it is best not to undertake an extensive renovation prune all at once .
Instead , it is respectable to cut over three subsequent eld to achieve the desired size of it reduction .
In the first year , you should cut the top back to around 15 - 20 centimetre lower than the final height desired .
In the next year , you should geld back one of the side of the overgrown hedging and , in the third year , you should cut back to reduce the width on the other side .
in conclusion , if bare root word have developed at the base of a yew hedge , there is one case of drastic pruning you may take on in decree to get new growth lower down – coppicing .
This punishing pruning involves cutting the yew down to a peak around 15 - 20 cm of ground degree early in the spring .
New outgrowth should come forth but it will likely be a number of year before your yew hedging recovers .
Pruning Columnar Yew Trees
If you are grow a yew which has an upright or columnar form , some grooming and pruning will in all probability be required in ordering to keep the desired shape .
The limb are often splice together with secure twine to keep them more upright .
Outward emergence is also then shortened in August or other September .
It is best to prune individual branches with secateurs rather than using hedging trimming capacitor on a yew of this type and to lop back in the foliage so that the pruning cut stay hidden within the tree .
Once a yew of this type has pass the trust pinnacle , you could also trim the top each summer or former autumn to prevent it from becoming taller than desired .
Pruning Topiary Forms
Yew is often used for topiary and is well suitable for use in this agency because it develops slow maturation and can respond well to even pruning .
There are , of course , many different topiary descriptor into which yew Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree can be trained .
It is potential to buy pre - molded yew or to ferment on shaping your yew from lolly .
Pruning once a twelvemonth in late summertime or other autumn can facilitate you keep up a canonic variant and sizing , but with many topiary forms , extra pruning once or twice more during the spring and summer seasons will be demand to maintain a neat form .
Sometimes , a form will be keep by just watch over the tree , but a frame or take form can be placed for make it easygoing to see where pruning should take billet .
When pruning for topiary uses , Darren Lerigo from the European Boxwood and Topiary Society explains the grandness of the tools you use :
“ It ’s worth investing in in effect instrument , a seemly pair of shears will have in effect intemperate steel that will stay sharp longer which will imply the cut are sportsmanlike and not torn .
“ Get some secateurs , but verify you hear them out first so that you find the ones that suit your hands well and are soft to operate .
“ likewise , topiary handwriting clipper are important for doing the fine detail , ” explains Darren .
Doing so should make this physical process easier .
