You *could* have pruned them a couple of weeks ago, just when it was clear it was emerging from dormancy. And you can hard / rejuvenation prune them.
I would take a few years given their current height to get full again.
I like yew a good deal, minus the crazy amount of pollen, but I think given the size at which they are nice and full they are planted far too close to your house and were never a good choice there to begin with. They should have been at least a foot or a foot and a half further out.
Just my opinion… wait for others.. and I’m pretty sure you can prune yew a few times a year.
lostdad75
IME, if you prune back beyond the existing needles, it will not recover. These are far beyond too large for the space. m Like whistlerbrk wrote, they are too close to the foundation. I like to see 9′-12″ between a bush and the house
Alchemistry-247365
If you live in an area with big game like deer and elk, they are poisonous. I know nothing else about it, I’m not even sure what it looks like. I just know it was a big deal growing up in the PNW.
Shameless522
I’d give them a good trimming now and wait to fall and cut them back. If they don’t regrow you would end up pulling them anyway
sullimareddit
I’ve hard pruned yew many times. Like way way down to bare wood. It will recover but looks like holy hell for a year or maybe more. If they don’t recover, they’re a lot easier to pull out that way too. But they will. Note that deer really like the new growth so keep that in mind.
JohnRoscoe
I like yews and am usually in favor of making the best of mature plants, but I can’t envision a scenario where those look great in front of your home. I’d remove and re-shape and re-design the front beds of your home. Some smaller yews (taxus densiformis) might be a part of that re-design, but not these guys.
jibaro1953
Career nurseryman here.
A lot depends on their condition.
Peek on the inside of the plant and look for tiny buds and little tufts of foliage. It looks shaggy enough that it hasn’t been pruned to the exact same size for years. If all the foliage is limited to the outside of the plant, with very dense outer growth and brown twigs inside, you won’t have much luck cutting it back.
The only time we had any luck cutting back overgrown plants was when we fertilized the a few months ahead of any pruning.
If the interior shows lack of vigor, I would fertilize those plants with 10-10-10 or similar inorganic fertilizer now and prune them in July.
Always prune wider at the base. The shape should be the bottom of a nosecone. It’s always a nose cone or part of a nose one in profile unless you’re doing topiary.
Resist the temptation to reach in and snip any little branches towards the bottom.
Picture the growth plane you want in your mind’s eye, stand parallel to the plant, and keep your bottom wrist straight, moving that arm as little as possible. Step back and check your progress now and then.
If you’re going to use hedge shears, do yourself a favor and buy a pair of Bahco hedge shears, which are the best on the planet and not overly expensive.
A. M. Leonard should have them. You want the style with the fat blades so the weight of the metal helps make the cuts.
7 Comments
You *could* have pruned them a couple of weeks ago, just when it was clear it was emerging from dormancy. And you can hard / rejuvenation prune them.
I would take a few years given their current height to get full again.
I like yew a good deal, minus the crazy amount of pollen, but I think given the size at which they are nice and full they are planted far too close to your house and were never a good choice there to begin with. They should have been at least a foot or a foot and a half further out.
Just my opinion… wait for others.. and I’m pretty sure you can prune yew a few times a year.
IME, if you prune back beyond the existing needles, it will not recover. These are far beyond too large for the space. m Like whistlerbrk wrote, they are too close to the foundation. I like to see 9′-12″ between a bush and the house
If you live in an area with big game like deer and elk, they are poisonous. I know nothing else about it, I’m not even sure what it looks like. I just know it was a big deal growing up in the PNW.
I’d give them a good trimming now and wait to fall and cut them back. If they don’t regrow you would end up pulling them anyway
I’ve hard pruned yew many times. Like way way down to bare wood. It will recover but looks like holy hell for a year or maybe more. If they don’t recover, they’re a lot easier to pull out that way too. But they will. Note that deer really like the new growth so keep that in mind.
I like yews and am usually in favor of making the best of mature plants, but I can’t envision a scenario where those look great in front of your home. I’d remove and re-shape and re-design the front beds of your home. Some smaller yews (taxus densiformis) might be a part of that re-design, but not these guys.
Career nurseryman here.
A lot depends on their condition.
Peek on the inside of the plant and look for tiny buds and little tufts of foliage. It looks shaggy enough that it hasn’t been pruned to the exact same size for years. If all the foliage is limited to the outside of the plant, with very dense outer growth and brown twigs inside, you won’t have much luck cutting it back.
The only time we had any luck cutting back overgrown plants was when we fertilized the a few months ahead of any pruning.
If the interior shows lack of vigor, I would fertilize those plants with 10-10-10 or similar inorganic fertilizer now and prune them in July.
Always prune wider at the base. The shape should be the bottom of a nosecone. It’s always a nose cone or part of a nose one in profile unless you’re doing topiary.
Resist the temptation to reach in and snip any little branches towards the bottom.
Picture the growth plane you want in your mind’s eye, stand parallel to the plant, and keep your bottom wrist straight, moving that arm as little as possible. Step back and check your progress now and then.
If you’re going to use hedge shears, do yourself a favor and buy a pair of Bahco hedge shears, which are the best on the planet and not overly expensive.
A. M. Leonard should have them. You want the style with the fat blades so the weight of the metal helps make the cuts.