Berry yew: description and varieties, cultivation, planting and care, application

Quite often people are interested in the description and varieties of berry yew, as well as growing, planting and caring for the plant. This is an evergreen coniferous relict culture that easily adapts to any conditions. She appeared on earth 65 million years ago. The plant is considered unpretentious and has a long lifespan. It is characterized by a dense crown and excellent decorative properties.

Description of the plant

Representatives of the genus Yew are dioecious plants. They are distinguished by scaly red-brown bark. The crown is characterized by an ovoid-cylindrical shape and is often multi-peaked. The branches are whorled.

The yew is characterized by flat and soft needles, which have a dark green color. It is located on the side branches in 2 rows, and on the stems - in a spiral. Needles reach a length of 20-35 millimeters. Red fruits are formed on female trees and remain on the branches until winter. Shrub varieties of yew almost never exceed 10 meters. In this case, the tree-like variety can be higher than 20-30 meters. The trunk reaches 4 meters in diameter.

The wood of culture has antibacterial properties. This is due to the high content of phytoncides. It is used for the manufacture of furniture or ceilings in the house. This helps protect your home from infections. Because of the valuable wood, the yew was on the verge of extinction, and therefore it was listed in the Red Book.

The lifespan of a culture can reach 3,000 years. After pruning, the plant is able to quickly recover. Thanks to this, the gardener can create various forms from the crown.In addition, the culture is able to grow both in the shade and in the sun. People who decide to plant a yew on their site should take into account that all its fragments contain toxic substances.

Popular varieties

Yew berry has about 150 varieties. However, they can be wild or grown in botanical gardens and arboretums. Also, the culture can be planted on your site. At the same time, it is important to choose the right variety.

Fastigiata Robusta

This columnar plant has a dense crown and branched shoots that fit snugly against the trunk. The needles are small and have a dark green color. Its length reaches 2-2.5 centimeters. For 1 year, yew grows by 5-8 centimeters. By the age of 10, its size is 10-20 meters. However, in most cases the culture remains quite low. The crown takes pruning well. Because the tree can be used as the basis for green sculptures.

Repandance

This creeping variety is slow growing and develops a spreading crown with dark green foliage over time. Its height reaches 50-60 centimeters. This variety can be used to form a low hedge. It can also cover an embankment.

David

This variety has beautiful golden leaves and a bushy habit. You can plant the plant in the sun and in partial shade. In addition, it has a high frost resistance. The plant is able to withstand temperatures down to -15 degrees. The height of the culture reaches 2 meters. In this case, the width in adulthood can be 1 meter. The flowers are characterized by an inconspicuous color. The plant has variegated leaves with a yellow tinge.

Elegantissima

This cultivar features foliage that gradually tapers to a sharp apex. They often curl inward in the upper third of the leaf and form hair-like tufts near the tops of the branches.

The striped foliage has a pale yellow color. Subsequently, it becomes whitish. The bark has a light yellow tint. This variety is characterized by spreading branches that are tightly pressed to the trunk. This culture is often found in the Mediterranean mountains at an altitude of 2000-2500 meters.

Summergold

This culture has bright golden needles. It is with this that the name of the plant is connected. The crown has a cushion shape. The bush itself is characterized by slow growth. By the age of 10, it reaches 80 centimeters. Of the minuses of culture can be called a high need for moisture. At the same time, the plant is resistant to frost. It is permissible to grow it in central Russia.The culture has excellent decorative properties and fits perfectly into landscape compositions.

Semperaurea

This shrub variety has a lush decorative crown. In the warm season, the needles have a bright golden color, and in the cold they turn orange. This plant is quite fast growing. It reaches 3-4 meters in height and 5 meters in diameter.

Culture lends itself perfectly to pruning and shaping. The shrub is considered shade-tolerant. At the same time, it does not tolerate exposure to direct sunlight and is characterized by sensitivity to crown burns.

Cooper Gold

This shrub variety is distinguished by a lush spherical crown and light yellow needles. An adult plant does not exceed 1 meter in height. It is resistant to frost and can be used to form hedges.In addition, the culture looks great in rock gardens.

Green Rocket

The tree has a columnar shape. It is characterized by shoots tightly adjacent to the trunk. The plant reaches a height of 4-5 meters, and in diameter - 1. The culture is distinguished by needle-like bright green needles. The plant looks great in hedges. It can also be used to create complex landscape compositions.

Rules and features of boarding

The yew is considered an unpretentious plant that thrives in both sun and shade. However, when growing a crop in the south, it is worth avoiding scorching rays. It is also not recommended to plant a crop in waterlogged or too dry soil.

Expert opinionZarechny Maxim ValerievichAgronomist with 12 years of experience. Our best gardening expert.Ask a QuestionIn general, yews thrive in normal, permeable soil that is moderately moist.The plant is considered not too sensitive to pH. It is permissible to plant it in neutral, acidic or calcareous soil. In addition, yew is resistant to wind and adverse environmental conditions.

Berry yew is an excellent component for structuring a garden in the form of a column. It can be made quite high or cut in the form of a topiary. The plant looks great in the form of a green hedge. It can be planted along paths or used to demarcate different areas in the garden.

When choosing a variety, you should focus on how you plan to use it:

Straight and columnar varieties should be planted singly. They look great in the center of the lawn.
Crawling varieties are recommended for embankment cover.
Golden-leaved varieties are great for shady areas in the garden.
Crops with dark green foliage stand out well in the sun.

The plant can be given an unusual structured shape. It can be grown in the form of a cube, hedge or pyramid. Also, the plant can be formed in the form of a cloud, which will organically complement the Japanese garden. Culture perfectly decorates small areas. At the same time, it is worth giving preference to small varieties.

Because the yew is slow growing, it will take a long time to form a beautiful hedge or an impressive silhouette. To quickly get the desired result, it is worth buying large enough seedlings.

Planting work can be carried out in spring or autumn. In the first case, it is recommended to do this in April or May, and in the second - in September-October. You should not plant a crop in a hot summer, as a young plant will suffer from drought. It is also not recommended to carry out planting work in early spring. In this case, the culture may die from the cold.

To plant a yew, it is recommended to do the following:

Place the pot with the seedling in a bowl of water. This will help saturate the root ball with moisture and improve the recovery of damaged roots after planting.
Dig a big hole. It should be three times the size of a lump of soil.
Apply a small amount of rotted compost, mixing it with garden soil. It is also acceptable to add a little slow release supplement to the formulation.
Take the culture out of the pot and place it in the recess up to the level of the root collar.
Fill the hole with earth and tamp lightly.
Make a water holding hole near the base of the crop and water the plant generously.

For the cultivation of yew for the purpose of forming a hedge, it is recommended to take into account some features. To plant a plant in this case, you need to do the following:

Dig a trench 2-3 times wider and deeper than the plant's root system.
Add a small amount of compost to the hole by mixing it with garden soil.
Place the seedlings in the trench at a distance of 80 centimeters from each other.
Sprinkle with earth and compact the soil a little.
Water plants generously.

How to care for a tree

Growing a crop in your garden is pretty easy. This plant requires systematic watering and loosening of the near-stem circle. It is also important to keep the trunk circle clean. Young bushes should be covered for the winter, and protected from sunburn in the spring.

So, yew care includes the following components:

Irrigation - yews less than 3 years old need systematic soil moistening.This procedure is recommended to be carried out with an interval of 4 weeks. At the same time, 10-15 liters of water should be spent on 1 bush. Adult crops require watering quite rarely. They usually get enough rain. In addition, a powerful root system enables plants to extract moisture from the deep layers of the earth. But during a long drought, the crop needs systematic watering and sprinkling of the crown.
Loosening - wet soil in the trunk circle needs to be processed to a depth of 10-15 centimeters. This is especially true during the first 3 years after planting a yew in open ground. If this is not done, a crust may appear on the ground, which will prevent oxygen from reaching the roots. It is recommended to remove weeds during loosening, as they are often carriers of parasites.
Mulching - this procedure helps to reduce the amount of weeding, watering and loosening. For this purpose, it is permissible to use peat, needles or sawdust. The thickness of such a layer should be 8-10 centimeters.
Feeding - if fertilizers are used when planting, this amount will be enough for a yew tree for a whole year. After that, the soil is recommended to be fed annually. For this, it is permissible to use "Kemira-universal" . 100 grams of substance is used per 1 square meter. It is also permissible to use nitroammophoska. 50-70 grams of the product is used per 1 square meter.
Pruning - yew berry is slow growing. Therefore, in the early years, he does not need pruning. Mature plants lend themselves perfectly to crown formation. At the same time, even too much pruning will not harm them. Cutting shoots is required no more than a third of the length. Be sure to get rid of dry or diseased branches. Pruning should be done in early April. This is done before the kidneys swell.
Transplanting - it is recommended to transplant the crop in the spring. It is important to ensure that the soil warms up well. First you need to select a site and make a recess of the desired size.After that, you need to pull out the bush and place it in the recess. It is important to ensure that the root neck is flush with the ground. After the transplant is completed, it is recommended to water the culture abundantly, and sprinkle the near-stem circle with a mulch layer.

Tree reproduction

Tees are best propagated by cuttings. The seed method is usually not used, since it can take 2 years for the germination of planting material. It will take years to get the right size plant.

For propagation of yew by cuttings, planting material must be prepared at the end of summer or at the beginning of autumn. This is done in September-October. To get a new culture, it is recommended to do the following:

Cut off a cutting 15-20 centimeters in size. It must be taken from a one-year-old branch. It is best to take an escape with a heel. This will help speed up the appearance of roots.
Remove the leaves from the bottom of the cutting, 10 centimeters long.
Prepare a pot of soil. Sandy soil is best.
Water the ground.
Dip the base of the cutting in a preparation that promotes root formation. Kornevin would be a great option.
Place the cutting in a pot and compact the soil well.

Place the container with the plant in a well-lit place. It is important to provide protection from direct sunlight. Until the plant takes root, it is required to maintain sufficient moisture in the substrate. To achieve the right atmosphere, you can put a bag on the pot or use a plastic bottle.

Possible diseases

When growing yew, you may encounter the following problems:

Yellowing of the needles - the reason may be the natural death of some of the needles. Also, the needles may turn yellow in young plants if the bushes are young enough. To avoid this, they need to be shaded in the spring.
Phomosis - is a fungal pathology, which manifests itself in the form of necrosis of the cortex. Also, the disease is accompanied by drying and browning of the needles. This infection is quite persistent. She does not die in the winter. Fruiting bodies of fungi gradually tear the bark and resemble small black growths. Dry tree shoots must be removed. To cope with the pathology, it should be sprayed with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid. It is recommended to do this in spring and autumn.
Niello - is a fungal pathology, which is accompanied by the appearance of a black film resembling soot. It covers the shoots and needles of the culture. Usually, niello is accompanied by the appearance of a false shield on the plant. To cope with the pathology, you first need to remove the parasites. You can also transplant a young crop to a lighter area and prune to improve air exchange. A good effect is the use of copper-based products.

Using yew

Berry yew is often used in landscape design. It can be used to create a hedge. Also, the culture looks great in combination with ponds and garden paths. It is actively used for the design of rock gardens and topiary gardens. This variety goes well with sculptures. In group plantings, the plant sets off mixborders well.

Berry yew is a highly sought-after crop that fits well into a variety of compositions. At the same time, the plant is unpretentious and does not need specific care.