Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata'

Do these do ok in pots ?

G

 

Yep, but usual rules, as Marley says for long term shrubs in pots, good compost to start with, (not sure you need acid for Yew), plenty of balanced feed in summer months along with probably daily watering.

Winter, it can be left to get on with it.

 

Im not sure if this is the one I've got. Mine is in sandy soil and growing about a foot a year. How well it would do in a pot I can't say, sorry.

 

Sheal. I have a couple of largish ones I hack back every three years or so, but they are about 30yrs old and growing in the ground.
They do, do reasonably well in containers, grow slower, etc.
But I always think container grown shrubs only have a limited time before they need planting out, and smaller cuttings potted up to carry on.

 

Me too

What effect are you after Mr Grinch? or is it just that you already have the Yew plants are are wondering about putting them in a pot?

Personally I would get something that grows faster (even ordinary yew for that matter) and "topiary" it to the columnar shape. If you are in a reasonably hurry Box is probably the best for Container + Topiary shape.

 

Im after a columnar evergreen that will add height to the part of the garden that has none. Its a wet area, they wont grow in it so thought about adding a couple in nice pots, then maybe adding another in the border to tie it all in.

G

 

Gotcha.

Trouble with Fastigata, and the Irish yew, is that they are particularly slow. You could buy a big-un at the get-go, but of course slow-growing = expensive :(

Pencil Cypresses are another option. Not sure how they get on in containers, but they are definitely the "exclamation point" shape

Other than that I reckon its some sort of Topiary, so Yew or Box as I said, or perhaps Holly if the slight more "fuzzy" shape would be OK - you could even have Winter berries if you choose females (and have males around) or get a self-fertile variety (there's a good one called J.C. van Tol - which has gold and silver variegated forms too)

Only other thought is a narrow obelisk or columnar frame with a climber on it. Some ivies would probably "stay put" within the frame, rather than growing berserk, and look like a topiary - without the wait!

 

Hi Kristan,

I have seen they cost a bit. I'll look into the pencil Cypress aswell as a standard Yew aswell to see if they would fit. The advantage about it being slow growing i suppose is the fact you wont have to pot them up too often but the down side would be the lengh of time it would take to become a decent feature.
Im not really into Holly or Ivy. Was looking for something a bit more substantial.
Couple of other questions if possible, what is the growth rate for Irish Yew's compared to standard Yews ? The type of pot is also something im trying to sort out. I want it square but wasnt sure what type. The main colour's of the paths/walls is a yellow/grey so i take it Terracotta would look odd ? Would a stone or a concrete dressed up as stone fit in better ?
I'd really appreciate your thoughts.

G

 

I've got a few "upright" yews in a hedge I planted about 5 years ago (they were a cheap-deal, dunno if some come that way, from seed, or if it was just what the bloke had left over!). That hedge had not been well looked after, and thus has not grown a great deal, but I would say the Uprights have grown only half as much as the normal ones. Not very scientific though!

I had a quick google - trouble is that Person-A may have copied from Site-B and thus the data may not be accurate, but I found this site:

Taxus baccata Fastigiata "Irish Yew" 6"-9" p.a.
http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/product_17211.html
Taxus baccata "English Yew" 6"-9" p.a.
http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/product_10338.html

so they seem to think that the growth rate is the same.

There is also Taxus media Hicksii (Female) / Hillii (Male) which is more upright than standard Taxus baccata (and, indeed, I now wonder if the recent "decent quality" hedging plants I have bought are actually this variety as they have grown more quickly and are upright in habit) "faster than English Yew when young" [although this site still says 6"-9" !!]
http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/product_16936.html

The golden "Aurea" forms are definitely slower growing

Many of my planters are any-suitable-container around which I have constructed a fake "outer" to actually look good. My nicest ones are 3-ply lined with pond-liner on the inside (and woven landscaping mesh at the bottom for free drainage), and then something good looking around them to smarten them up.

 

Thanks for the reply Kristan.

Ive been looking at the Cypresses and they certainly seem more suitable as they can handle a bit of drought which they may get in a tub/planter. They also grow a lot faster.
Are the price differences of Cypresses compared to the Irish Yew that different in your experiance ?

G

 

Sorry, I've never bought a "pencil" Cypress. Nice Italian look though ...

Segraves sell them, and have a good reputation for "exotic" plants, but I've never dealt with them.

http://www.seagravenurseries.co.uk/products/italian-cypress-trees-and-conifers

£90 for a 2.5M specimen sounds OK to me (shorter/cheaper available), and they have 6.5M ones if you can rush to £685 !!

 

Odd, they say that these are very slow growing, but other sites say diffently. Im confused !
CUPRESSUS SEMPERVIRENS "TOTEM" looks a better bet as its thicker than the other they sell.

 

Yeah, there are some very skinny varieties - I think they look anaemic ! like these ones at East Ruston Old Vicarage:

 

Kristan,
What size planter would you use for a 6 foot Cupressus ?
Might go tomorrow to have a look.

G