Pleached Yew Hicksii

Yew Hicksii – Taxus x media ‘Hicksii’ (Taxacae)

The Yew ‘Hicksii’ is a wonderful sophisticated evergreen coniferous tree with a rounded habit. It is one of the smallest species in the genus Taxus with an upright habit, achieving heights on average between 3 and 5 meters. It is densely branched and heavily leaved, even more so than Taxus baccata (English Yew).

Having a compact habit, it is also slower growing than English Yew which makes this plant low maintenance. It grows in a columnar fashion at first, changing to becoming narrow ovoid with age. New twigs and branches are surprisingly strong, brown in colour, while older bark is reddish brown, fibrous and flaky. The dark green needles are slightly longer than those found on the Taxus baccata, but they are also narrower (0.25cm). The female cultivar can bear lots of small red fleshy fruit roughly 0.7cm long which various species of birds thoroughly enjoy feeding on. No part of the plant should be eaten as they are toxic.

For those with equestrian centres, liveries and stables, Yew should not be planted on or near paddock fencing where horses and ponies can feed on them. The same advice is given to farmers with livestock. Planting away from these immediate areas where grazing animals can’t feed freely on the plants is common.

Like all other varieties of Yew, the Hicksii has a high tolerance to drought and as a result it doesn’t like to be planted on wet ground or areas that are subject to flooding. It may die in conditions where the soil beneath the plant is not sufficiently well-drained. It therefore prefers sandy, loamy soil but is will do equally well on clay as long as there is sufficient drainage to prevent the roots sitting in damp ground. A hardy robust plant, capable of living to a very old age with specimens, hundreds of years old not being uncommon. The Hicksii is winter and frost hardy capable of withstanding temperatures to -23 so suitable for gardens in the North of England and Scotland which experience relatively harsh winters. It will happily grow in full sunlight and shadow too and it shows a good resistance to wind.

Suitable for small and large gardens, large containers, roof gardens and industrial areas. Its rather narrow upright habit makes it suitable for specimen solitaire pieces, hedge plants and pleached trees. Available in containers, pots and rootball in season while stocks last.

Planting advice for Pleached trees, Freshly Pleached trees, Espalier trees and Freshly Espaliered trees.

An important consideration when planting pleached or espalier trees in a straight line is the slope of the ground. Pleached or Espalier trees look their best when they are planted on flat or gently sloping ground. Doing so will line up the frames and stems and creating effect of one continuous line when viewed at all angles. Even on a gradual slope this effect can be achieved. However, with a slope of more than 10-12 degrees, it may be necessary to step the trees/frames when planting (the frames on freshly pleached trees can be manipulated to account for a sharper slope of perhaps 15 degree if necessary).

To create a good visual effect, it is important to line up the stems and frames (unless you are planting them in a circle or semi-circle). To start off the planting holes should measure roughly double the width of the rootball or pot….

Read our full planting guide here

How are Pleached Trees made?

Pleached trees or screen trees start life as a seedling or cutting, much like any other tree, being repotted or replanted a number of times in their formative years. They grow happily on the nursery with hundreds or even thousands of other trees. When the time is right, highly skilled nurserymen and woman go out into the field amongst the trees with tags in hand and pick the very best trees for pleaching. The criteria for choosing the best trees for training includes, selecting those with the straightest stems, healthy root stock and appropriately spreading and uninform crowns. Once tagged and lifted the trees are loaded onto trailers and sent to potting sheds for training. Read our full guide to pleaching trees here

Delivery varies depending on:

• How many trees you require
• If you want us to plant them
• Accessibility of the site
• If any need sourcing
• The seasonal ability to lift or plant specific species

  Please contact us to discuss your individual requirements.