AT A GLANCE
Is the yew a good hedge plant?
The yew is ideal as a hedge plant because it is evergreen, tolerates pruning, is malleable and easy to care for. It thrives in both sunny and shady locations and is hardy.
Can you plant yew as a hedge?
In fact, the yew is even ideal as a hedge plant, after all, the coniferous tree scores with these advantages:
- evergreen with dark green needles
- extremely cut compatible
- very easy to form, e.g. B. as a topiary
- Thrives in both sunny and shady locations
- very good shade tolerance
- undemanding and easy to care for
- hardy
also read
Yew trees have been growing for centuries for ornamental gardens used. Shaped trees made of yew or yew hedges can still be found in numerous castle and baroque gardens today. The tree can become extremely old: Germany's oldest specimen is estimated to be between 1500 and 2000 years old!
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the yew as a hedge plant?
The numerous Benefits of Yew have already been listed. The European yew (Taxus baccata) in particular is ideal for hedge planting, but it grows quite slowly and therefore needs a few years for an acceptable growth height. On the other hand, yews are an attractive sight with their dark green needles, the fine branching - with regular pruning - and the bright red fruits in autumn.
But be careful: the conifers are in all parts of the plant highly toxic – just a few berries are enough to fatally poison a child. Therefore, you should refrain from a yew hedge if you have small children.
Which yew tree is best suited as a hedge?
In addition to the European yew (Taxus baccata) in its various forms
- Column yew: 'Fastigata', 'Fastigata robusta' with growth height of up to 5 meters and narrow growth width
- Columnar yew 'Fastigata Aureomarginata': tall, narrow growth with golden yellow needles
- 'Renkes Kleiner Grüner': Dwarf yew growing up to 80 centimeters, ideal for low hedges
Taxus media, a hybrid breed, is also very suitable for hedge planting. These varieties are also known as "cup yew" and grow up to five meters high. The pure male variety 'Hillii' also does not form any berries that could be dangerous for small children.
Which is better, yew or thuja?
This question is not so easy to answer, as personal preferences naturally also play a role. Therefore, here we list the main advantages and disadvantages of the Alternatives to yew on:
- Thuja: inexpensive, adaptable, fast-growing, evergreen, but also dries up quickly and does not turn green again, leaches the soil
- Privet: tolerates pruning very well, flowers in spring, but grows very slowly
- Cherry laurel: fast-growing, undemanding, grows almost everywhere, but worthless from an ecological point of view
- Gloss medlar: beautifully shiny leaves, red shoots in spring, flowers in summer
Instead of an evergreen, you can also plant deciduous hedges, for example from wild trees, flowering trees, beech or hornbeam or barberry.
Tip
Pay attention to the planting distance
Yew trees not only grow taller - an average of around 20 to 30 centimeters a year - but also in width. Therefore, when planting a hedge, you should leave enough space in front of and behind the plants to allow them to develop. an approx. two meter high yew hedge requires about 90 centimeters of space. When planting, you should plant three yew trees per meter.
