I need to cut back a overgrown yew..

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Jos southwestern, IA(Zone 5a) Feb 25, 2006

I need to cut back a overgrown yew and I just dont know where to start. It has been here since long before we bought our house and has never had proper maintenance. It grows like crazy though so it must be happy where it is. I read somewhere to cut back a third and then wait and do the same. When can I start? Do I need to wait until we are no longer getting frost and winter like weather or can I cut it back now and then again later. Let me tell you this yew is big, some of the inner branches are 2+ inches around. A neighbor suggested I just get rid of it completely and start new but I just don't want to do that since it seems to be so healthy where it is. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

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kandlmidd Presque Isle, WI(Zone 3b) Feb 25, 2006

Jos, a couple of nice entries in google under "pruning yews" to get you started, Ken

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StarhillForest Illinois, IL(Zone 5b) Feb 25, 2006

You could gradually clean out the lower branches and work it up into a small tree, which it would do by itself anyway in nature in a few hundred years or so. Or you can cut out selected branches (the longest/tallest ones) to reduce the overall size.

But please don't "hedge-trim" it, unless you really have to have that effect. Big old yews are much too nice to be made into dumb little balls and cubes and corkscrews, and once you start you have to do it constantly to maintain the crisp-looking surface.

Guy S.

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Jos southwestern, IA(Zone 5a) Feb 25, 2006

I don't want to shape it or even change its natural shape much at all. If i stand on the ground in front of it it is almost 2 feet taller than I am...lol. Keep in mind I am only 5'4 but it is in front of my porch and is simply too tall. If I sit on the porch swing it blocks the small amount of view I do have. I just want to "clean up" its appearance and make it shorter at the same time without harming it.

I think I found the kind of info I was looking for by doing as Ken suggested and searching google. Sometimes I just find that when I google for info its kind of generic and I was hoping to hear from someone who had done this type of thing and what their results were.

Thanks for your replies. :)

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