Taxus Yew, Hicks pros-cons ?

[edprocoat]

I seen several Yews, they are labeled Taxus Yew Hicks. They have great trunks and some nice nebari on three of them. The they are about four feet tall and the trunks are between 4-1/2 to almost 6 inches wide on these trees.

I was wondering if
1. Do they chop well, if I were to trunk chop them would they back bud well or at all.
2. Do they grow slow, or are they quick growing enough to not have to spend 10 years waiting for a new apex to form.
3. Are they the type of plant that could do well in a warm climate, as I go to Fl. in the winter and learned the hard way that Bird's nest spruce can not take the Fl. heat I would hate to kill the plant if I bought it, especially as its $60.00, not bad considering the girth of these Yews.
4. And lastly, do they air layer. The reason I ask this is that some of the upper branches are 2-3 inches thick and would make decent little trees by themselves if air layered.

Thanks for any advice from you Yew users, or should I say You, that hew Yew?

ed

 

[treebeard55]

Hicks is a very upright-growing yew cultivar. You can work with one, but be prepared for a constant battle with its urge to reach-for-the-sky rather than spread out. I stay away from them for that reason.

I would not take any yew to Florida. You might notice that yews are not used for landscaping that far south; junipers are ubiquitous, not yews as is the case here in the Midwest. In the wild, the only yews native to the tropics or subtropics grow at high elevations, where the climate is cooler.

 

[edprocoat]

Thanks man, I did not want to kill another tree after the winter I had. The heat killed my Birds nest spruce and I left a quart of oil that I put some gas in to remove some tar near my juniper I have for my avatar with the cap on the plastic bottle, the bottle swelled up in the heat and bursted covering and killing my juniper, two trees in a month!

I was not sure if it would be able to take the heat or not, guess I will pass on this one. They are super nice trees for someone who could give them the proper environment, at least they have great potential with the fat trunk with taper and great surface nebari, plus they are in a three gallon container that is only about 2/3rds full of soil and the roots did not seem congested.

ed

 

[amkhalid]

I'd stay away from hicks yew. Like treebeard said, the upright habit is unsurmountable. I had one with a gorgeous trunkline that I worked on for about 5 years, but after fighting a losing battle with the growth habit, I finally said screw it and sold it last year. I feel bad for the person who bought it!