We have old yews at my childhood home that we need to deal with and this has been the most comprehensive video on how to manage them I have seen. Thank you for providing a deeper understanding in how to help the yews regain their shape going forward.
From UK. This is the most useful video I have seen about how to prune a yew. You just saves mine from the hedgetrimmer in July. I will now prune with secateur in the autumn. Bless You for speaking your mind which helped me to understand. 🙏
Excellent video. We have Japanese yew hedge and everytime we use shear hedge they grow back more but there are dead branches inside. So thinking is the key 👍
Excellent explanation. I really appreciate what you demonstrated and that you explained why you cut what you did. I have huge, overgrown yews so now I know this will be a multi-year project. Thanks
Tx for the great demo & explanations. Great info. I was happy when you finally addressed pruning a yew that hasn't been done for several years, my situation. Branches at least an inch or so thick and quite long. I also have some "snowball" shaped yews with dead centres. Will use your methods & advice, wish me luck. Watching from Ontario, Canada. PS love your humour and your sound and video was excellent.
This was a great video, thank you! Is it bad to do pruning in the summer? (I'm asking in July). I'm in Minnesota and we've had a super rainy spring/summer so far.
You can, it will be a little harder on the bushes than some other times of year though; the best time is winter dormancy, second best times are early spring before new growth starts and late summer after it is hardened off. If you prune while there is active growth it does sap some energy from the plant.
Great video. I have overgrown Yews trimmed as ice cubes and the only green is about 12 inches at the top. The inside is completely brown. Can they be cut to around 3 feet from the ground. The shrub is about 7 feet high. I do have one that is circular that is has green all the way around it but not on the inside. It is too wide. Can it be cut back about a foot. The other problem is the shrubs are planted about 12 to 18 inches from the house wall. How far should they have been planted in the beginning.?
Well, eventually (key word) you can cut it back that far, it steps, and with time. You can't cut lower than the lowest significant (i.e. not just a single bud or weak little branchlet) green branch; but you can coax the plant to make more branches lower down. Start by pruning out the dead material, which will give you a clear view of what you are doing. Then, thin a third to half of that shield of green so light can get through to the interior. You won't be cutting it back at this stage, just thinning it out to allow light in. Now, you wait a year!!!! the plant will throw out a bunch of green growth, and next year you can thin it out more. In the third year some of those new shoots will be strong enough to stand on their own and you can cut it back. Distance from foundation...that's more of a construction question than a plant health question and I am not a contractor. You can use this technique to prune it according to your contractor's recommendations.
The answer is gradually, and with a lot of patience! You can do it, but you need to leave substantial green on every branch or it will die. So, when working back an old plant, you need to prune in such a way that you open up the inside to light, and reduce branch size enough to stimulate budding further down the branch, but not so much that it completely defoliates the branch. Then, you will get buds growing deep inside the plant which you can nurture next year, and then in the third year you will be able to cut further back and continue the process. Usually a badly overgrown yew (or one which has been turned into a green ice cube full of dead spots) takes about 5 years to completely re-shape. A good rule of thumb is that you should never cut more than 50% of the green off of a branch or that branch is likely to die back to the core...in which case you might as well just have cut it in the first place. Is that helpful? PS--yew wood is COVETED for certain wood working projects, so don't throw out those large prunings! Coat them with any kind of paint you have handy (or even just a smear of vaseline if you don't have any paint) and set them aside to dry, come woodworker in you life will be grateful you did!
Well, it is a little bit allelopathic, but not nearly as bad as walnut. That being said anything which casts dense shade will make a dead spot, even if it is small and local.
@@oldwaysrisingfarm I am doin the question because frequently I see Yews, not doing well when the ground is covered in Ivy, saying this, what the best way to control invasive Ivy
@@Nutty_Professor Well, I don't have experience with that aspect of things, it is not a problem in my area. I do know it is hard to control, perhaps contact you local agg extension office?
We have old yews at my childhood home that we need to deal with and this has been the most comprehensive video on how to manage them I have seen. Thank you for providing a deeper understanding in how to help the yews regain their shape going forward.
Glad to help, and good luck!
From UK. This is the most useful video I have seen about how to prune a yew. You just saves mine from the hedgetrimmer in July. I will now prune with secateur in the autumn. Bless You for speaking your mind which helped me to understand. 🙏
Glad to be of assistance, friend from across the pond!
Excellent video.
We have Japanese yew hedge and everytime we use shear hedge they grow back more but there are dead branches inside.
So thinking is the key 👍
So glad to help! Good luck with your project and have a blessed day!
Excellent explanation. I really appreciate what you demonstrated and that you explained why you cut what you did. I have huge, overgrown yews so now I know this will be a multi-year project. Thanks
Absolutely, glad it helped!
Tx for the great demo & explanations. Great info. I was happy when you finally addressed pruning a yew that hasn't been done for several years, my situation. Branches at least an inch or so thick and quite long. I also have some "snowball" shaped yews with dead centres. Will use your methods & advice, wish me luck. Watching from Ontario, Canada. PS love your humour and your sound and video was excellent.
Thanks! Glad to help!
This was a great video, thank you! Is it bad to do pruning in the summer? (I'm asking in July). I'm in Minnesota and we've had a super rainy spring/summer so far.
This is great, thanks. I've learned so much.
I put landscape lighting with a grow light and shine it from the inside out.
That's really creative! Did it work to promote internal growth?
excellent, clear and funny
Can I do this now in may in new york
You can, it will be a little harder on the bushes than some other times of year though; the best time is winter dormancy, second best times are early spring before new growth starts and late summer after it is hardened off. If you prune while there is active growth it does sap some energy from the plant.
Great video. I have overgrown Yews trimmed as ice cubes and the only green is about 12 inches at the top. The inside is completely brown. Can they be cut to around 3 feet from the ground. The shrub is about 7 feet high. I do have one that is circular that is has green all the way around it but not on the inside. It is too wide. Can it be cut back about a foot. The other problem is the shrubs are planted about 12 to 18 inches from the house wall. How far should they have been planted in the beginning.?
Well, eventually (key word) you can cut it back that far, it steps, and with time. You can't cut lower than the lowest significant (i.e. not just a single bud or weak little branchlet) green branch; but you can coax the plant to make more branches lower down. Start by pruning out the dead material, which will give you a clear view of what you are doing. Then, thin a third to half of that shield of green so light can get through to the interior. You won't be cutting it back at this stage, just thinning it out to allow light in. Now, you wait a year!!!! the plant will throw out a bunch of green growth, and next year you can thin it out more. In the third year some of those new shoots will be strong enough to stand on their own and you can cut it back.
Distance from foundation...that's more of a construction question than a plant health question and I am not a contractor. You can use this technique to prune it according to your contractor's recommendations.
Better to prune in mid June when the new growth start. And boxing them is ugly. And leave the bottom half fatter. Than the top.
How do you drastically reduce the size of a way overgrown yew? I don’t want to kill it but it’s massive and encroaching on my roof and gutter.
The answer is gradually, and with a lot of patience! You can do it, but you need to leave substantial green on every branch or it will die. So, when working back an old plant, you need to prune in such a way that you open up the inside to light, and reduce branch size enough to stimulate budding further down the branch, but not so much that it completely defoliates the branch. Then, you will get buds growing deep inside the plant which you can nurture next year, and then in the third year you will be able to cut further back and continue the process. Usually a badly overgrown yew (or one which has been turned into a green ice cube full of dead spots) takes about 5 years to completely re-shape. A good rule of thumb is that you should never cut more than 50% of the green off of a branch or that branch is likely to die back to the core...in which case you might as well just have cut it in the first place. Is that helpful? PS--yew wood is COVETED for certain wood working projects, so don't throw out those large prunings! Coat them with any kind of paint you have handy (or even just a smear of vaseline if you don't have any paint) and set them aside to dry, come woodworker in you life will be grateful you did!
Good, question does a thick English Ivy may have a negative effect on the Yews?
Well, it is a little bit allelopathic, but not nearly as bad as walnut. That being said anything which casts dense shade will make a dead spot, even if it is small and local.
@@oldwaysrisingfarm I am doin the question because frequently I see Yews, not doing well when the ground is covered in Ivy, saying this, what the best way to control invasive Ivy
@@Nutty_Professor Well, I don't have experience with that aspect of things, it is not a problem in my area. I do know it is hard to control, perhaps contact you local agg extension office?