There's a vast difference between yew sitting in waterlogged soil, and it not needing water at all, though. It's also something that doesn't happen overnight. When shrubs start to look stressed with browning foliage etc, it's usually been happening over a period of time The site looks very heavily planted, and as @JennyJ says - it's all sandwiched in between hard landscaping. Drought is far more likely than excess water
I remain sceptical, but I have started to water and feed it for the first time in over 13 year
My two thoughts are that the damage was done with the heavy down pours over the last few years. 1. About ten metres away (down hill, slightly) is my garage which flooded correspondingly as the soak aways could not cope, nor could my neighbours guttering which overflowed in waterfalls to my garage. Although this may be too far away with too many other trees in between to be relevant. 2. The roots of the other mature and larger trees have taken over.
While the original planting and hard landscaping was…um, optimistic…nothing has changed since we’ve lived there.
Yew are prone to a root problem called Phytophthora. It can spread along a hedge via the roots. Have you scraped the bark to see if there's any sign of life. Thought about hard pruning to see if the trunk will regenerate?
I have not, but I am intrigued.
1. Scrape the bark off the trunk for signs of life
Thanks for the update. If and when you come to replace the righthand yew, you will surely find that the footpath foundations, and lots of other rubbish, lie under this part of your garden.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Thanks for the update. If and when you come to replace the righthand yew, you will surely find that the footpath foundations, and lots of other rubbish, lie under this part of your garden.
Well it’s thrived for maybe decades so I dont know how true that will be.
I can’t afford to buy a 2m+ replacement so I’m wondering if I can grow the neighbouring holly out around it instead.
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intrigued.
1. Scrape the bark off the trunk for signs of life
2. ..?
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
If and when you come to replace the righthand yew, you will surely find that the footpath foundations, and lots of other rubbish, lie under this part of your garden.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I can’t afford to buy a 2m+ replacement so I’m wondering if I can grow the neighbouring holly out around it instead.