Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Issue with yew trees

boydmboydm Posts: 6
in Problem solving
Hiya.  Can anyone shed any light on why my 5 year old yew have decided to take a nasty turn this year    To be honest I did cut the sides this year   3-6 inches    I’m concerned They aren’t going to recover without some intervention     Any help or guidance please? dec
«1

Posts

  • boydmboydm Posts: 6
    More pics

  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    I can see some new growth on your yews so that's a start. When you think back to the dry, hot summer we've had it's not surprising that shrubs, plants etc are struggling. What do your yews look like over all? A few dry patches isn't a good indication of their health as a whole.  
    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • boydmboydm Posts: 6

  • boydmboydm Posts: 6
    One or two are browning.  But general appearance is that something is eating the leaves.   Hopefully you can see in the pictures that the leaves have been stripped.   As opposed to a plant stressed shedding leaves.   It does look like that scenario to me.  But I’m no expert.   
  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    See below, is that where you trimmed them? As you probably know, yew is highly toxic and if an animal had eaten it I feel sure they would be dead by now so you would more than likely know about it. I don't know of any insects that would eat it. There's yew scale but they are sap sucking insects.
    Anyone else got any opinions?


    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    1.  It could be the use of a very blunt hedge cutter.

    2.  It might be deer.  They are known to take bites out of plants and spit it out.
     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."
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Deer will browse on young yew shoots ... if they eat a good assortment of stuff, rather than gorge on one thing like domesticated animals do, they can cope with the toxins.  I bet you've got muntjac around your area. 
     
    "... Deer are capable of eating thorny plants and also some, such as yew, which are poisonous to cattle and sheep. ..."

    https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/deer

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • boydmboydm Posts: 6

  • boydmboydm Posts: 6
    Thanks for comments so far.   Yes the ends of the branches are definitely caused by me cutting back the sides for the first time this year.  Perhaps too much.  Bits the leaves on the stems that give rise to concern.  But this might be stress caused by me perhaps?    We live on an estate so thinking very unlikely to be deer.  But not impossible.   
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    We live on an estate ... we frequently see muntjac wandering around in the wee small hours.  

    They're  frequently seen right in the city centre ...

    https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/firefighters-called-to-aid-of-deer-in-norwich-7995426

    https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/business/muntjac-spotted-outside-norwich-bookshop-9045654  

    https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/injured-animal-shocks-shoppers-at-castle-mall-shopping-centre-in-761342 



    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





Sign In or Register to comment.