How to Plant a Taxus Yew

Select a spacious location with well-drained soil. Each Taxus yew cultivar needs room for upright growth as well as spread; the amount of space depends upon the cultivar. Yew branches spread outward and upward as they grow and when their tips encounter structures or the foliage of other trees they may change color and eventually drop off.

Remove the root ball from its container carefully so as not to damage the plant. Gently pull the container away from the plant instead of grasping the plant by its trunk and pulling it out of the pot. If the plant ball appears root-bound, unwind the snarled roots from around the outside of the ball and trim them off with a pair of pruners.

Dig out a space approximately twice as wide as the root ball. Yews prefer to grow near the surface of the soil. Place the root ball of the shrub into the hole and check for proper depth. Make sure the soil at the top of the root ball matches the same level as the soil around it. Use your hands to firm up the soil around the base of the shrub.

Water your newly planted Taxus yew and keep watering until small puddles begin to form on the surface of the soil. Water every 10 days for a month.

Spread a two-inch thick circle of pine bark mulch around the shrub. The mulch should extend outward from the main trunk to the furthermost overhanging branch. The mulch breaks down and replenishes the acid the yew absorbs from the soil, eliminating the need for additional fertilizer. Re-mulch the yew every six months.