Plants: Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata' - Columnar Irish Yew

Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata' is an extremely useful evergreen conifer for sun or shade. Most commonly used for hedging purposes, it has a naturally upright broadly columnar form and takes shearing well. Its dense form and dark green color makes a matte-green dramatic backdrop for a perennial or mixed shrub border and a fine support for clematis.

Irish yews are often used individually to add height and winter structure to the garden as a vertical exclamation point or paired to set off an entryway. As yews are among the few conifers that thrive in dry shade, they can be used to provide a textural contrast to other plants in a shady garden. This striking, slow-growing yew is one of the best garden yews as it will take many years to outgrow its position. It naturally makes a good shape without any clipping or trimming. Fastigiata is a female clone, so it bears small red fruit. Yew bark, foliage, and fruit can be toxic, so site plants with care. Like all yews (but unlike most conifers), it can be pruned back to old wood and will resprout readily. It's a tough plant, needing no supplemental water once it's established. Taxus baccata Fastigiata will reach 2 to 2.5m high by 0.8m wide in ten years. Ultimately, it can reach up to 6m high and 2.5m wide if left unpruned. For hedges 30cm upwards, set plants 60cm from each other. Trim in September. Hardiness USDA zones 6 to 9. It grows well on exposed/windy or dense shade locations and trives also on a chalky soil.