Rootballed Yew, Large Hedge Plants

Rootballed Taxus baccata 'Instant Hedging'

Yew is an extremely hardy, disease resistant native tree. Unlike other conifers, it produces red, berry-like fruit instead of cones. Yew leaves are evergreen needles that clip beautifully into a formal hedge. Yew will grow in any well-drained soil, and it tolerates deep shade. A yew hedge can be clipped and pruned hard if necessary: it makes new shoots from old wood, so recovers from mistakes with shears and trimmers. Neglected yew hedges that have been allowed to become sparse can be cut back hard to encourage dense new growth.

Choosing a size: With big, comparatively expensive plants like these rootballed Yew, it's really up to your budget to decide which size you want. These large rootballed yew trees are the largest sizes that you can order from us. They are the nearest thing you can get to an instant yew hedge. They can also be planted singly as specimens. For smaller plants, have a look at our full range of yew hedging. 

All our hedge plants are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

Browse all of our evergreen hedging plants or our full range of hedging here.

Rootballed Yew hedge plants are only delivered during winter (Oct-Nov).

Spacing Rootballed Yew plants in a hedge:

These large Yew plants have quite wide rootballs, so they should be planted 60-75cms apart along the hedgerow

History & uses of Taxus baccata

To our ancestors, the Yew tree was a god of death and rebirth. It must have seemed immortal to them, living as it does for thousands of years, growing in the darkest heart of the forest or on freezing mountain slopes. Old yew trees tend to spread outwards and slump a bit as their heavy branches pull open their centre, often creating a thick, wide evergreen canopy quite close to the ground. If the original, main trunk gradually splits apart and eventually rots away, these low branches can root where they rest on the soil, thus resurrecting. It is easy to imagine clans of Stone Age humans constructing shelters under them, using the long, low branches as ceiling beams, sheltering from the late Autumn winds and famished bears.
The quiet place beneath these old Yews was one of reverence for our animist forebears. It housed the wizened, gnarled face of the god itself; a massive, brooding creature that did not suffer cold or time. The red flesh of Yew's fruit was a nourishing treasure to our ancestors in winter, but anyone who bit down on the seed inside could have been paralysed and possibly killed, which surely added to the awe that this unique tree inspired. Yew is good firewood, but it needs to be split and then seasoned for several years before it will burn beautifully.