Irish yew
Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata' · Taxaceae
A dense, dark column of upright branches, with needles set all round the shoots. Every plant descends from one found on a hillside in County Fermanagh about 1780.
- Size
- 13 ft tall, 3½ ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around Irish yew
The planner designed this bed around Irish yew when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) formal bed in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why Irish yew stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Irish yew × 1, dark green leaves
- 2 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 30, yellow
- 3 Black-eyed Susan × 6, yellow
- 4 Red spider lily × 6, red
- 5 Easter lily × 4, white
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only fine leaves here. The rest are medium. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
Why here
- At the back. At 13 ft it is seen over mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' (8 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 19 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as a formal bed: 47 of the 47 plants (100%) are mirrored across the middle of the bed: each stands on the middle line or has a twin of its own kind opposite it. Yellow, red and white make a hot, lively scheme. The front edge is finished with mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'. The Design check says balance and heights needs revision.
The planner's own design check: 7 Excellent, 8 Good, 2 Needs revision. Its weakest point is balance: The left half of the bed carries 28% of the visual weight and the right half 72%. The right end looks heavier.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Irish yew goes in a border
At 13 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
The strongest vertical accent that will grow in shade. A pair marks an entrance; a row makes an avenue. Tie in the branches with wire if snow splays them.
- Formal columns and avenues
- A dark vertical in sun or shade
- Marking an entrance
What to plant with Irish yew
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Boxwood 'Green Velvet': low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- English lavender 'Hidcote': adds the flowers, late June to late July; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': adds the flowers, early June to early October; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about Irish yew
Does Irish yew need sun or shade?
Irish yew grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun), part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does Irish yew grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 8. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should Irish yew be planted?
3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3½ ft (100 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 13 ft (400 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Irish yew plants do I need?
At 3 ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 4 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is Irish yew poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: severe toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. Needles, bark and seeds are extremely poisonous; small amounts can cause sudden heart failure in people, pets and livestock. Never plant it where animals graze, and keep clippings out of their reach.
Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like Irish yew?
These come closest to doing what Irish yew does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire': the same job in a bed; 4 in narrower, wants moist soil.
- Dwarf Hinoki cypress: a specimen, not an accent, 8 ft shorter.
- Box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold': an anchor, not an accent, 9 ft shorter.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat Irish yew?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What does Irish yew look like in winter?
Irish yew keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is Irish yew good for bees and butterflies?
Irish yew is visited by songbirds.
More Taxus
- Dwarf Japanese yew Taxus cuspidata 'Nana'
- Hicks yew Taxus x media 'Hicksii'
- Spreading English yew Taxus baccata 'Repandens'
- Spreading yew 'Densiformis' Taxus x media 'Densiformis'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 13 ft (400 cm) tall, 3½ ft (100 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Taxaceae
- Comes from
- Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa
- Attracts
- Songbirds
Checked against NC State Extension and ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.