Heritage European Yew Refinement

parhamr

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Please enjoy another progression thread…

I bought this male European yew at the BSOP 2017 fall show for $385. It had gone to auction through the Heritage Program after the passing of a man by the name of McDonald. That’s about all I know about the history of the tree, but I guess it may have been landscaping material at some point. It was hugely overgrown and I could tell the former owner had not found time to work on it in recent years.
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To even get the tree home I had to remove about 9" off the top of the main trunk, which I felt bad about for a bit. Now I look back at this and feel vindicated — a tree 48 inches wide and tall doesn’t make sense for this species and design when the trunk is about 5 inches diameter above the basal flare.


In late winter 2018 I did some deep cleaning of uncontrolled growths, crotch growths, and removed obviously unnecessary foliage. It was a ton of cleanup but hardly made a dent. I also decided what the likely front would be. This photo was from September; a lot of excessively large needles are visible — I hadn’t yet figured out the watering routine on this tree.
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In January 2019 I repotted the tree, which went pretty smoothly. I removed some broken down soil and matted roots, plus took about two inches off the right side of the roots to fit it in this slightly smaller (but deeper) pot. I also corrected some major flaws in the surface roots, which had been hidden by the moss.
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I recall doing a little pruning in 2019 but I don’t recall the details. I think it was just minor cleanup for tertiary branch selection and to remove more poorly positioned growths.


Then, this year I took on the process of finally styling the tree. Up to this point its primary branches were all pretty straight and level with only minor taper.

March 2020, before major structural pruning, with pollen cones and loads of healthy new growth visible:
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June 2020, where you can see the major reduction in the length of the first branch, the removal of the competing upper canopy on the right, and a massive thinning of foliage on the lower left branches
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And, now, the tree halfway through its current (structural) styling efforts.
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Various notes about the current state…
  • All branches are still loaded up with healthy buds; I think I finally have a good water and fertilizer scheme figured out
  • Having better clarity on the design allowed me to finally commit to removing the lowest right branch; I don’t love that its removal now makes the bottom two branches pretty equal in terms of height, but I had even more dislike for how the bottom branch competed for visual interest with the trunks diverging
  • Pulling the upper left trunk down and toward the right trunk went surprisingly well; there’s a ton of tension on that wire and this might be the first of several applications of the bending force
  • I have 4 and 6 gauge wire on most of the primary branches; none of the secondary branches have wire because I’m slightly nervous about how many small splits and tears I had to put into the old bark on the coarse primary branches
  • The bottom left branch is my defining branch
  • The upper left branches were quite overgrown so I’ve chopped them way back to regrow with more delicate taper
  • I will continue to compact the right branches and allow the left branches to extend for an asymmetric design with some feelings of tension
  • I think the bottom-most branch on the rear breaks up the awkward similarity in the height of those first branches on the individual trunks
  • The major bits of dead wood are as purchased, though I’ve done cleanup around the margins of live tissue and I’ve also performed some improvements to the surface texture
More to come!
 
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leatherback

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Nice work so far! Really turning into a nice tree!

I find that old yew branches are slow to set in place. You might have to resort to guy wires to keep the angle to the trunk for a few years.
I would not worry too much about wiring the rest of the branches too. If well-rooted, these are bullet-proof
 

parhamr

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I felt stupidly anxious about the tree possibly becoming waterlogged over the winter or getting upset about how much foliage I had removed but it’s looking good:
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The pollen cones are spraying their seed and the foliar buds are swelling. This tree had a lovely bronze winter color.
 

parhamr

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The tree responded nicely this year. Itleaves/needles are slightly oversized due to heavy watering through record high temps in the peak of the spring growing season.
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I’m slightly worried and puzzled about a few branches that are more yellow than the rest of the tree. They don’t appear to have issues with wire constriction, disease, or pests. Inputs welcomed there.

If I can find the time I will be applying more wire this winter.
 

actionflies

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Always enjoy reading your post and at the same time I'm learning something new. Keep up the good work Reid :)
 

leatherback

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Overall the tree seems to have lost some of the vibrance. I would NOT wire this winter. THe branches that are yellow, are these the same ones that were overloaded with pollen in 2020?

I would take a look at the rootball and see what is going on. Overly wet? Roots dying after a hot spot in the sun?

From what I have seen, yellow needles on Yews mostly lead back to the roots OR scale.

Do check your old pictures. Could it be a cultivar that has a yellow winterglow? I think to see yellowing in the other fall/winter pictures too.
 

parhamr

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Overall the tree seems to have lost some of the vibrance. I would NOT wire this winter. THe branches that are yellow, are these the same ones that were overloaded with pollen in 2020?

I would take a look at the rootball and see what is going on. Overly wet? Roots dying after a hot spot in the sun?

From what I have seen, yellow needles on Yews mostly lead back to the roots OR scale.

Do check your old pictures. Could it be a cultivar that has a yellow winterglow? I think to see yellowing in the other fall/winter pictures too.
Thanks, friend. This tree definitely does carry a strong bronze cast in winter photos, but right now it’s just not consistent.

I’ve looked carefully and don’t see any scale or other pest and disease warnings. I do recall a moderate scale infection around late 2018 to early 2019, so I think I would be decent at spotting a recurrence.

I think the pollen cone distribution has been pretty even.

What is common to the two most yellow branches is they were interior foliage exposed to the sun after a moderate pruning and then they were moderately wired. Based on a touch of bark damage and the bends they have, I think the wiring explains it.

My current best guess is the two yellowing branches produced less starches and sugar in the growing season or those branches scavenged more starches and sugars than other branches in the fall.

The rest of the tree is looking good. What’s also possibly different between photos is the original series of photos have the saturation pushed up to about the max of realism and the latest photo hasn’t had the saturation pushed.
 

Japonicus

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none of the secondary branches have wire because I’m slightly nervous about how many small splits and tears I had to put into the old bark on the coarse primary branches
I like your style
Nice progression thread

I'm not sure but going back to the the pic "halfway through its current (structural) styling efforts."
this may not be possible, but...what if this branch were cut back to open this space, what foliage would disappear
would the entire branch be lost?
I've grayed out a portion of the visible woody part, not the resulting foliage removal.


parhamrs JY.jpeg
I just can't see its origin or destination now, and going back to that earlier picture
this would not be possible unless there is growth behind where the branch might be pruned back to.
It's a fantastic purchase. I would've snagged that up just for the trunk and nebari in a heartbeat.
Cool tree, I like where it's going.
 

parhamr

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I like your style
Nice progression thread

I'm not sure but going back to the the pic "halfway through its current (structural) styling efforts."
this may not be possible, but...what if this branch were cut back to open this space, what foliage would disappear
would the entire branch be lost?
I've grayed out a portion of the visible woody part, not the resulting foliage removal.


View attachment 463562
I just can't see its origin or destination now, and going back to that earlier picture
this would not be possible unless there is growth behind where the branch might be pruned back to.
It's a fantastic purchase. I would've snagged that up just for the trunk and nebari in a heartbeat.
Cool tree, I like where it's going.
If you’re ever wondering “what is Reid doing there with that?”

The answer is almost always “doing too little bonsai work and not meaningfully committing to progress, growth, and big steps because a little bit of timidness and a whole truckload of all the other things going on in his life.”

🙃

We are renovating a 1941 bungalow and moving in February. The good news is I’m not going to be on a nonprofit board come January.
 

Japonicus

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If you’re ever wondering “what is Reid doing there with that?”

The answer is almost always “doing too little bonsai work and not meaningfully committing to progress, growth, and big steps because a little bit of timidness and a whole truckload of all the other things going on in his life.”

🙃

We are renovating a 1941 bungalow and moving in February. The good news is I’m not going to be on a nonprofit board come January.
Ditto life has be unrelenting this year.
I hope to be retired and able to at least keep up better next year, so I will be much more limited with funds.

Not a time of year to address that branch, but other than thinning...
is it addressable? Can't tell from here, but it looks a bit out of proportion up there
compared to the nice taper below that point.
 

parhamr

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Ditto life has be unrelenting this year.
I hope to be retired and able to at least keep up better next year, so I will be much more limited with funds.

Not a time of year to address that branch, but other than thinning...
is it addressable? Can't tell from here, but it looks a bit out of proportion up there
compared to the nice taper below that point.
Ohh, gotcha. Yeah, that branch is a great candidate for reduction. There’s taper to be had and it’s backbudding extremely well.
 
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