Spreading English yew
Taxus baccata 'Repandens' · Taxaceae
A low, wide-spreading yew with long, dark, glossy needles and branch tips that droop gracefully. It grows in deep shade.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 10 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 7
- Light
- Full sun to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around spreading English yew
The planner designed this bed around spreading English yew when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) formal bed in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why spreading English yew stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Spreading English yew × 1, dark green leaves
- 2 Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips' × 33, blue
- 3 Brown-eyed Susan × 6, yellow
- 4 Shooting star × 16, pink
- 5 Purple milkweed × 6, purple
- 6 Creeping phlox × 16, white
- 7 Easter lily × 6, white
- 8 Oriental lily × 7, red
- 9 Tiger lily × 6, orange
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.
Why here
- In the middle. At 3 ft it is the step between Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips' (8 in) in front and tiger lily (4 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
- Fine leaf against bold. Purple milkweed is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 16 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: 97 of the 97 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. The most in flower at one time is 4 kinds, from early August. Cool colours (blue, pink and purple) set against hot ones (yellow, red and orange), with white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 8 Excellent, 8 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where spreading English yew goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A low, dark, elegant mass for shade, and the most graceful of the spreading evergreens. It must have good drainage. Deer browse it heavily.
- Evergreen groundcover in shade
- Covering a bank
- Under windows and trees
What to plant with spreading English yew
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: bold leaves against its fine ones; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Lenten rose: adds the flowers, late March to early May; bold leaves against its fine ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Christmas fern: low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about spreading English yew
Does spreading English yew need sun or shade?
Spreading English 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 spreading English yew grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 7. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 7 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 spreading English yew be planted?
6½ ft (200 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 10 ft (300 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many spreading English yew plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6½ ft (200 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6½ ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is spreading English 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 spreading English yew?
These come closest to doing what spreading English yew does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Arborvitae 'Hetz Midget': the same job in a bed; 3½ ft narrower, wants moist soil.
- Box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold': the same job in a bed; belongs at the back, not in the middle, 12 in taller.
- Rockspray cotoneaster: the same job in a bed; 20 in narrower, flowers late May to early June.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat spreading English 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 spreading English yew look like in winter?
Spreading English 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 spreading English yew good for bees and butterflies?
Spreading English yew is visited by songbirds.
More Taxus
- Dwarf Japanese yew Taxus cuspidata 'Nana'
- Hicks yew Taxus x media 'Hicksii'
- Irish yew Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata'
- Spreading yew 'Densiformis' Taxus x media 'Densiformis'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 10 ft (300 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6½ ft (200 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 7
- 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.