The Complete Guide to Pruning Yew Trees and Shrubs

This native evergreen tree or shrub has long been popular in gardens, often clipped to form hedging or topiary. As a hedge, large or small, it forms a year-round sheltering screen along boundaries or a dark green backdrop to borders. Its dense growth and red berry-like fruits provide valuable shelter and food for wildlife.

Yew trees and shrubs (Taxus spp.) are classic evergreen landscape plants that have been prized for centuries for their versatility, adaptability, and year-round beauty. With their gracefully spreading branches, fine-textured foliage, and attractive red berries, yews lend an elegant, refined look to gardens when left to grow naturally into their picturesque forms.

But yews are also highly amenable to pruning and trimming which allows them to be shaped into stunning hedges screens, topiary, and other controlled forms. Their dense growth responds well to shearing and clipping, recovering quickly and filling back in within a season or two.

Knowing the right techniques and timing for pruning yews is key to maintaining plant health and achieving your desired shapes and sizes Here is a complete guide to successfully pruning yew trees and shrubs for maximum beauty in your landscape

When is the Best Time to Prune Yew Plants?

Pruning yew plants at the wrong time of year can stress them and lead to damage or delayed recovery of growth. Follow these tips on ideal timing:

Spring – Early spring before new growth emerges is the best time for rejuvenation or renewal pruning of overgrown yews. This allows time for new buds to develop before summer.
Summer – Prune for shaping and containing growth in early to mid summer, once new spring growth has hardened off. This is key for managing size.
Fall – Light pruning in early fall can tidy up yews before winter dormancy. Avoid late fall pruning once cool weather begins.
Winter – It’s best to avoid pruning yews in winter when they are dormant. However, remove dead branches anytime.

How Often Should You Prune Yew Plants?

For general landscape yews, prune once a year in late summer or early fall to contain growth.
Formal hedges and topiaries can be pruned more frequently for tight control – clip twice or even 3 times over spring and summer.
When renovating overgrown yews, prune gradually over 2-3 years to allow recovery. Never remove more than 1/3 of foliage at once.

Pruning Young and Newly Planted Yew Plants

Follow these tips when pruning young or newly planted yews:

Allow 1-2 years of growth before initial pruning to establish an adequate root system and foliage mass.
In the first years, focus just on removing dead or damaged branches.
Start light annual pruning thereafter to shape and maintain as needed.
Water and fertilize regularly in early years to aid recovery from pruning.

Techniques for Pruning Overgrown Yew Plants

If your yew has become dramatically oversized, here are some rejuvenation methods:

Renewal pruning in early spring can involve cutting old, inner branches back to the trunk. This stimulates new growth.
For overgrown hedges, cut back top and sides gradually over 2-3 years to allow recovery. Never remove more than 1/3 of foliage at once.
Coppicing very mature hedges (cutting main stems back near ground level) will rejuvenate but takes years to regrow.

How to Trim Yew Hedges and Topiaries

Follow these tips for trimming yews into neat hedges and topiary shapes:

Use sharp bypass hand pruners for detail work and loppers for thicker branches.
Make cuts just above healthy buds to direct new growth.
Trim top and sides separately so you can shape as desired – don’t shear flat.
For hedges, cut sides more than top to maintain height. For topiary, trim all over.
Stand back frequently when pruning to visualize final shape. Avoid overthinning interior.
Make frequent, light trimming cuts in summer to keep tight formal shapes.

Things to Avoid When Pruning Yews

While yews are quite tolerant of pruning, avoid these mistakes:

Never remove more than 1/3 of total foliage in one pruning session.
Don’t wait until yews are drastically overgrown to prune – gradual pruning is better.
Avoid pruning late in fall after cool weather begins to avoid frost damage.
Don’t shear yews into tight balls or unnatural shapes; trim to complement natural form.
Always sterilize pruning tools between plants to prevent disease transmission.

Caring for Yews After Pruning

Proper aftercare is key to healthy regrowth following pruning:

Water thoroughly after pruning and monitor soil moisture.
Apply a balanced organic fertilizer to aid recovery.
Protect new growth if freezing weather is expected.
Allow 1-2 growing seasons for full regeneration of foliage.
Watch for pest/disease problems on stressed plants and treat if needed.

Achieving Your Landscape Vision with Well-Pruned Yews

With the right pruning techniques and timing, you can maintain yew trees and shrubs for optimum health, beauty, and enjoyment in your garden. Take it slow, never remove too much foliage at once, and prune to complement the plant’s natural form. Your efforts will be rewarded with stunning yews that enhance your landscape all year long.

Caring for older plants

Yews are long-lived plants that can grow quite large over time, but they can be pruned back down to a manageable size. Unlike most other conifers, yew will regenerate from old wood. To renovate an overgrown or neglected hedge, see Pruning and Training below, and our guide to renovative pruning. As yew is highly poisonous, it is best to wear gloves when handling clippings – see our guide to potentially harmful garden plants.

Your legal rights regarding tall hedges

Your legal rights regarding tall hedges Fastigiate (or upright) yew cultivars, such as Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’, can lose their slender shape over time. However, you can tie the branches together, encircling them with strong twine, to prevent them falling open. The ties will soon be hidden by new growth. You can also prune them to reduce their outward spread – see Pruning and Training below. Pruning and training

Yew can be left to grow naturally or can be clipped or pruned to keep it neat and compact. Clipping also encourages dense growth, which is ideal for hedges and topiary. Once established, yew can grow vigorously so is best trimmed at least once a year. It is also one of the few conifers that can regenerate from old wood if cut back hard. Just bear in mind that yew is highly poisonous, so it is best to wear gloves when handling clippings – see our guide to potentially harmful garden plants.

Watch out for birds nests

The main nesting season is early March to end of July, but it can go on for longer. Always check shrubs and hedges carefully before pruning or trimming, and delay if you find an active nest. It is an offence to damage wild birds nests.

Once established, a yew hedge can grow vigorously, up to 30cm (1ft) a year.

Trimming once a year, in summer or early autumn, will keep a yew hedge tidy and at the required size
Formal hedges can be clipped more often – twice or even three times over the summer – to keep them really neat
Regular trimming encourages a dense, smooth surface

For full details of how and when to clip, see our guide to pruning hedges. This also includes details of how to prune newly planted yew hedges (formative pruning), so they grow to form a dense, upright screen.

All you need to know Before you get started

Yew (Taxus baccata) is a

A native plant is one that originated or arrived naturally in a particular place without human involvement. In the British Isles, native plants are those that were here during the last ice age or have arrived unaided since.

native evergreen tree or shrub. A symbol of immortality, it can be very long lived, with some churchyard trees thought to be over 1,000 years old. In gardens, yew is often grown as formal hedging or topiary, as its dense growth can be clipped into neat shapes. When grown as a tree, it has red-brown, peeling bark, a dense year-round canopy of dark green needle-like leaves, and red berry-like fruits called arils (on female plants). Yew can eventually reach 12m (40ft) or more over time, if left unpruned. Yew is valuable to many types of wildlife. Its dense growth provides shelter for birds and insects all year round, while the fruits, produced by female yews, are a food source for various birds and small mammals in autumn and winter. However, be aware that yew foliage is highly poisonous, to both humans and animals, and while the fruits are not poisonous, the seed inside them is extremely toxic. It would be wise to wear gloves when handling yew clippings, and never plant it within reach of grazing animals. For more advice, see our guide to potentially harmful garden plants.

Yew is an easy-to-grow plant that will thrive in almost any soil or situation, even deep shade. It will fit into any size of garden, as it can be pruned or regularly clipped to keep it within bounds or left to grow to its full extent. It provides valuable year-round structure, and is well suited to all styles of garden, including:

formal gardens, when neatly clipped as hedging or topiary
containers, in a contemporary or traditional setting, when trimmed into formal shapes
hedging, either informal or formal, providing dense year-round screening or a backdrop to borders
wildlife gardens, as it offers year-round shelter, and female plants produce fruits
as majestic specimen trees

Helping hedgehogs

Yew hedges can form useful wildlife corridors, offering sheltered routes between gardens for wildlife such as hedgehogs.

Yew plants are widely available from garden centres and online suppliers, including the RHS Shop. They can be bought at various sizes, although younger plants tend to settle in more quickly. If you want to buy a large plant for instant impact, see our guide to buying specimen trees. Yew plants can also be bought in quantity, often as

These have been lifted from the ground while dormant, with little or no soil around their roots. Various plants may be available bare root, including fruit trees, hedging plants and some perennials. They are generally cheaper than plants in containers, but are only available in winter/early spring, while dormant

bare-root plants (without soil), from online hedging suppliers. When buying yew for a hedge, choose plants that are 45-60cm (18in-2ft) tall, as these tend to establish more successfully and grow away better than larger plants. Bare-root or root-balled yews are usually cheaper than container-grown plants and seem to establish more readily. As well as the common yew (Taxus baccata), there are several cultivars available too, offering foliage in various shades of green or yellow, and with different styles of growth. The most well-known of these is the Irish yew (Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’), which is distinctively columnar in shape, with vertical branches. There are also other species of yew, although most are not readily available in the UK. For the widest choice of yew cultivars, look for specialist tree and shrub nurseries online. For more on the different cultivars, including photos, growing advice and where to buy, see RHS Find a Plant and search for ‘Yew’. Planting

Yew is easy to plant and should settle in well. It can be planted in almost any soil, individually or as a hedge, or in large containers. To give it the best start, prepare the ground before planting by digging in lots of well-rotted garden compost or manure.

Yew can be planted in a wide range of garden settings, including:

Borders and containers, especially as formal clipped topiary shapes, to add year-round structure
Informal and wildlife-friendly gardens, left unclipped to fruit freely
As hedging along boundaries or within a garden to divide or screen different areas

When grown in containers, yew is usually clipped into compact topiary cones, pyramids or spirals, ideal for formal gardens, contemporary settings, small spaces, and more. Containerised yews work well as focal points or to add a formal feature to patios and doorways. Yew can be planted in most soils, including chalky soil. Once established, it can cope with drought, but dislikes waterlogged conditions, which can cause the roots to rot. As yew is highly poisonous, never plant it within reach of grazing animals. For more advice, see our guide to potentially harmful garden plants.

Yew is best planted in autumn (late Oct-mid Dec) or spring (March), whether you’re planting an individual specimen or a hedge.

When planting yews individually, simply follow our guide to planting trees and shrubs. For hedges, see below. If your soil is compacted, dig the area thoroughly before planting to loosen the soil, so the roots can spread out freely. If the area is waterlogged, plant on a mound (see Planting hedges, below).

Yew is a popular hedging plant, suitable for most soils and situations, forming a dense evergreen screen. It is easy to plant – simply follow our guide to planting hedges. For hedges, it is best to choose bare-root yew plants that are no more than 60cm (2ft) tall. These should be cheaper than pot-grown plants and will settle in quickly and grow strongly. Newly planted yew hedges should then be pruned (formative pruning) to ensure they form an upright, dense screen – see our guide to trimming hedges. Yew dislikes waterlogged soil, but you can still grow a yew hedge in heavy soil if you plant on a ridge. Simply make a long mound, at least 15cm (6in) high and about 1m (3⅓ft) wide, then allow the soil to settle before planting along the top. Cover the roots with no more than 3cm (1¼in) of soil. This keeps the base of the plants and some of the roots out of saturated ground.

Yew is an ideal shrub for containers, as it can be trimmed to keep it compact and its evergreen foliage provides year-round appeal. See our guide to planting in containers. Ongoing care

Once it has settled in, yew needs little attention. It is a robust and generally healthy plant. Just clip formal hedges and topiary to keep them in good shape, and give plants in containers regular water over the summer.

Newly planted yews should be watered regularly for at least the first year, until their roots have spread out into the soil.
Larger plants generally take more time to settle in after planting, so will need watering for longer.
Once established, yews shouldn’t need additional watering.
Plants in containers need regular watering on an ongoing basis, as they have limited access to water. Make sure the compost doesn’t dry out in summer or become waterlogged in winter.

Tips on recycling and collecting water

How to water efficiently

Yews are robust plants and don’t generally need additional feeding. However, to boost growth you can apply a general fertiliser, such as Growmore, in late winter, following the instructions on the pack. Plants in containers will benefit from regular feeding, as the nutrients in the compost will soon run out. See our guide to container maintenance.

How and what to feed plants

A thick layer of mulch, such as well-rotted garden compost or manure, around the base will help to suppress weeds and hold moisture in the soil. Apply it when the ground is damp, in spring or autumn. Leave a 10cm (4in) gap around the stem, to avoid any risk of rotting the bark. Top up annually.

How to Prune Yews – Instructional Video w/ Plant Amnesty

FAQ

What months are best to prune?

General Pruning Guidelines

Prune most shrubs, fruit trees, and shade trees in the early spring while they are still dormant (before March). 2. Some trees will bleed sap if they are pruned in the spring. Prune trees that bleed either in the summer or in the late-fall.

How hard can you cut back a yew tree?

Yews are slow-growing trees, so cutting back too hard can send the plant into shock. This will slow new growth and leave it susceptible to pests and diseases. Never cut back more than a third of the total length of the branches.

How to rejuvenate prune yews?

Prune them in early spring, apply a balanced fertilizer, such as 10-10-10, and water them through the summer. It may take a few years, but the yews will revive — so vigorously that only annual pruning will hold them in check.

When should you start cutting yews?

It is safest to start cutting back yews when they are dormant. Late winter is perhaps the ideal time to start pruning a yew shrub.Apr 6, 2021

When to prune yew bushes?

The first question when you are pruning yew bushes is when to pick up the pruners. Clipping at the wrong time can have unpleasant consequences. It is safest to start cutting back yews when they are dormant. Late winter is perhaps the ideal time to start pruning a yew shrub. The types of pruning cuts to use depend on the outcome you desire.

Do yew trees need to be pruned?

Yew trees (Taxus spp.) are small evergreen conifers with soft, flat needles. Some species resemble small trees while others are prostrate shrubs. These are often used in hedges. Unlike some conifers, yews usually respond well to pruning. If you want to learn about pruning yew bushes, including how to prune an overgrown yew, read on.

When should you cut back yews?

“For standard garden hedges, trim once a year in late summer or early autumn, whilst old plants generally respond to pruning in late spring.” Hard cutting back should also be carried out in spring. When you are keeping yew in very tight control, you might prune several times over the spring and summer.

How do you prune a yew shrub?

Follow these step-by-step instructions to prune your yew shrubs effectively: Inspect the Shrub: Begin by closely examining your yew shrub, identifying any dead, damaged, or diseased branches. Also, take note of any areas that need thinning or shaping.

How often should you trim yew trees?

Trim Regularly: Maintain your chosen shape with annual pruning between March and July. Cut Deep: Don’t worry about cutting deep into the brown wood; yews can still green up from there. With patience and regular trimming, your yews can turn into artistic topiaries or neatly shaped shrubs.

When should you trim a fastigiate yew?

Once your fastigiate yew has reached the desired height, trim the top annually in summer or early autumn to prevent it getting any taller. , as it forms dense growth and copes well with regular trimming. Plants can be bought ready-trained or you can use a metal framework to guide you when trimming.