Plants
Yew
Taxus baccata · Taxaceae
The yew is the queen of clipped hedges: deep dark green, fully screening, extremely long-lived — and as the only conifer it reliably resprouts even from old wood. A yew stump sawn back radically will green up again; no thuja or cypress can do that. Its gravity is part of the deal: nearly all parts are highly poisonous, which must be known and respected when planting.
- Light
- Sun to full shade — the most shade-tolerant hedge there is.
- Watering
- Low; only water young plants and freshly planted hedges regularly, and avoid waterlogging.
- Care level
- Easy
- Botanical
- Taxus baccata
Hardly any shrub is as versatile in the garden: as a clipped hedge, as topiary balls or cones, as ground cover (variety ‚Repandens‘) or as a free-growing tree that can live many hundreds of years. The columnar yew ‚Fastigiata‘ replaces the Mediterranean cypress in small gardens.
Its greatest talent is regeneration: yews are the only native conifer that resprouts from old, needle-less wood. A completely overgrown or too-wide hedge can therefore be cut back to the frame in stages — after two or three years it stands dense again. On thuja or false cypress such a cut stays brown forever.
Add to that its shade tolerance: the yew will grow beneath old trees where every other hedge gives up. It grows more slowly than cherry laurel or thuja — but needs only one cut per year and holds its shape for decades. Only waterlogging defeats it.
The toxicity demands plain words: needles, wood and seeds contain taxine alkaloids that act on the heart — even small amounts can be fatal to people, dogs, cats and especially horses. Only the red, fleshy aril is non-toxic, though the kernel inside is highly poisonous. Hedge clippings must never end up within reach of grazing animals.
Even so — or precisely because of this — the yew is a valuable building block for nature: birds eat the red fruits, digest only the aril and spread the seeds; the dense hedge is a first-class nesting site. In churchyards it has been the tree of eternity for centuries, and in sympathy floristry we traditionally use yew greenery for wreaths and winter arrangements.
Is Yew toxic to children and pets?
- Children
- Highly toxic
- Cats
- Highly toxic
- Dogs
- Highly toxic
Needles, seeds and wood contain taxine alkaloids and are highly poisonous to people and virtually all pets and livestock — even small amounts can be fatal through cardiac arrest. Only the red aril is non-toxic, though the kernel inside is highly poisonous. If ingestion is suspected, call emergency services or a vet immediately — yew poisonings are emergencies.
Typical symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, dilated pupils, cardiac arrhythmia up to cardiac arrest — often with little warning.
In an emergency:call the German poison control centre in Bonn on +49 228 19240 (24/7) — for pets, contact an emergency vet directly. This information does not replace medical or veterinary advice.
Overview: toxic & non-toxic plants for cats, dogs and children
Care
- 01Works in sun to deep shade; only avoid waterlogged soils.
- 02Clip once a year, ideally in late June; topiary can be cut twice.
- 03Radical rejuvenation into old wood succeeds — best done in stages over two years.
- 04Water young plants in dry spells; established yews are very undemanding.
- 05Feed with compost or organic fertiliser in spring to encourage dense growth.
- 06Dispose of clippings safely — never within reach of horses or other grazing animals.
Frequently asked
- How poisonous is yew?
- Very: the taxine alkaloids in needles, seeds and wood act directly on the heart, and there is no antidote. As little as 100 to 200 grams of needles can kill a horse, and the plant is highly dangerous to children and pets too. Only the red aril is non-toxic — of little comfort, since the kernel inside is highly poisonous. Suspected cases are always an emergency.
- Can I cut an old yew hedge back hard?
- Yes — the yew is the only native conifer that resprouts from old, needle-less wood. The gentlest approach is in stages: cut one side back to the frame in the first year, the other in the second. Radical cuts are only permitted from October to February. After two to three years the hedge stands dense and green again.
- How fast does a yew hedge grow?
- At around 20 to 30 centimetres a year, slower than cherry laurel or thuja — but with one cut per year it stays precisely in shape for decades and never goes bare at the base. If you need screening quickly, plant larger stock; given a yew's life expectancy, the investment always pays off.
- Why are yews so often found in churchyards?
- The yew has been a tree of eternity since pre-Christian times: extremely long-lived, evergreen and at the same time lethally poisonous — which made it a symbol of death and rebirth. Many churchyard yews are older than the churches beside them. In sympathy floristry we still use its dark green for wreaths and arrangements today.