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Yew are not happy

JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
in Problem solving
Hi all, 

Another long time friend in the garden is my mixed yew/holly hedge.  Nothing but a light trim now and again, it’s been there at least 13 years…now it’s going yellow - well, two of the yew at the slightly higher end are.  The holly and the rest of the yew are fine, so far.



The two pale ones have started losing needles too.

1. What’s distressing it?
2. Is it a gonner?
3. What can I do before putting in a new yew, or a new something else?

Cheers all

Joe
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Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ DoncasterPosts: 7,690
    It doesn't look as if it has much soil around it for water to get down to its roots,with paving on at least two sides (and maybe three - can't see behind it). Maybe try giving it a good deep drink every so often and see if that helps.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 2,424
    There is also the possibility of a dog walker letting their dog pee up it ?
    Other than that, I agree with @JennyJ that it is probably suffering from lack of water and soil depth.
  • JennyJJennyJ DoncasterPosts: 7,690
    It's a pretty tall dog that could pee all the way up to the top :D
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 2,424
    Yes - I was just looking at the brown base - my fault.  There appears to be a pole there tho - an acrobatic dog ?  :D
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    edited September 2021
    Ive heard that too much water can cause this in yew, so I’n not confident in watering them, and previous years have been much much drier and hotter
  • FairygirlFairygirl west central ScotlandPosts: 49,086
    There's a vast difference between yew sitting in waterlogged soil, and it not needing water at all, though. It's also something that doesn't happen overnight. When shrubs start to look stressed with browning foliage etc, it's usually been happening over a period of time  :)
    The site looks very heavily planted, and as @JennyJ says - it's all sandwiched in between hard landscaping. Drought is far more likely than excess water  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....


  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    Fairygirl said:
    There's a vast difference between yew sitting in waterlogged soil, and it not needing water at all, though. It's also something that doesn't happen overnight. When shrubs start to look stressed with browning foliage etc, it's usually been happening over a period of time  :)
    The site looks very heavily planted, and as @JennyJ says - it's all sandwiched in between hard landscaping. Drought is far more likely than excess water  :)
    I remain sceptical, but I have started to water and feed it for the first time in over 13 year :smiley:

    My two thoughts are that the damage was done with the heavy down pours over the last few years.  1. About ten metres away (down hill, slightly) is my garage which flooded correspondingly as the soak aways could not cope, nor could my neighbours guttering which overflowed in waterfalls to my garage. Although this may be too far away with too many other trees in between to be relevant. 2. The roots of the other mature and larger trees have taken over.

    While the original planting and hard landscaping was…um, optimistic…nothing has changed since we’ve lived there.

    Fingers crossed.
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    JoeX said:
    Fairygirl said:
    There's a vast difference between yew sitting in waterlogged soil, and it not needing water at all, though. It's also something that doesn't happen overnight. When shrubs start to look stressed with browning foliage etc, it's usually been happening over a period of time  :)
    The site looks very heavily planted, and as @JennyJ says - it's all sandwiched in between hard landscaping. Drought is far more likely than excess water  :)
    I remain sceptical, but I have started to water and feed it for the first time in over 13 year :smiley:

    My two thoughts are that the damage was done with the heavy down pours over the last few years.  1. About ten metres away (down hill, slightly) is my garage which flooded correspondingly as the soak aways could not cope, nor could my neighbours guttering which overflowed in waterfalls to my garage. Although this may be too far away with too many other trees in between to be relevant. 2. The roots of the other mature and larger trees have taken over.

    While the original planting and hard landscaping was…um, optimistic…nothing has changed since we’ve lived there.

    Fingers crossed.
    Quick update:

    Its dead as a door nail.
  • Arthur1Arthur1 Posts: 533
    Yew are prone to a root problem called Phytophthora. It can spread along a hedge via the roots. Have you scraped the bark to see if there's any sign of life. Thought about hard pruning to see if the trunk will regenerate?
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 33,310
    JoeX said:
    JoeX said:
    Fairygirl said:
    There's a vast difference between yew sitting in waterlogged soil, and it not needing water at all, though. It's also something that doesn't happen overnight. When shrubs start to look stressed with browning foliage etc, it's usually been happening over a period of time  :)
    The site looks very heavily planted, and as @JennyJ says - it's all sandwiched in between hard landscaping. Drought is far more likely than excess water  :)
    I remain sceptical, but I have started to water and feed it for the first time in over 13 year :smiley:

    My two thoughts are that the damage was done with the heavy down pours over the last few years.  1. About ten metres away (down hill, slightly) is my garage which flooded correspondingly as the soak aways could not cope, nor could my neighbours guttering which overflowed in waterfalls to my garage. Although this may be too far away with too many other trees in between to be relevant. 2. The roots of the other mature and larger trees have taken over.

    While the original planting and hard landscaping was…um, optimistic…nothing has changed since we’ve lived there.

    Fingers crossed.
    Quick update:

    Its dead as a door nail.
    I guess now YOU are not happy?
    Devon.
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