. . . is new again.
Way back when — March 2002 to be exact — I ordered a pair of Taxus bacccata aka Irish yews at $8.00 each from the original Heronswood Nursery. You can imagine how small these shrubs were when they arrived in the mail. Twenty years later they are larger but not the 8' tall drama queens I was expecting them to turn into.
Not long after my Heronswood yews were planted Mark came home from working at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens annual plant sale with his own Irish yew. He didn't know we already had a pair of them. His was a named cultivar — Taxus bacccata 'Bean Pole' — and was already a couple of feet hight. BUT he paid $70.00 for it! I was appalled. Twenty years later it's obvious his was the smarter purchase.
So imagine my surprise and delight when I unexpectedly found a lone Taxus baccata 'Green Column' at our local K and A Greenhouse at the end of June. I paid $81.99 and didn't blink. In fact, it seemed like a steal to get a plant the size of the one Mark bought 20 years later and it only cost $12.00 more. It was orignally discovered at Jeddeloh Nursery in Germany. I also happen to have a Jeddeloh Hemlock.
Each year my original pair of Heronswood yews lose a lot of their growth to winter burn. So I moved one of the original pair to the back garden where it gets eastern sun. It came through the winter in better shape than this one on the north side of the house.
This one is currently looking so good I can't decide if I should just leave it alone or move it as well. Yews can generally take sun or shade and Mark's specimen is on the north side of the house in a lot of shade. It's also protected from winter damage by a huge old Arborvitae next to it. This one is in more southern light coming over the house and is much more exposed in the winter. Since I don't have twenty more years to watch this slowly grow it probably means I should indeed move it.
Those tiny mail-order plants can take an interminably long time to meet expectations but 20+ years is a bit extreme. I guess that's a vote for moving the little Taxus. That said, I planted a Garrya elliptica received by mail order in 2015 that has done very little except not die in the years since. It's not offensive where it is but I can't say that leaving it there has given it a chance of living up to its potential either.
Posted by: Kris P | Wednesday, August 02, 2023 at 12:37 PM
KRIS — Glad to know I'm not the only one who does these things.
Posted by: Linda Brazill | Wednesday, August 02, 2023 at 12:40 PM
Fabulous smock!
Posted by: Susan Sobol | Wednesday, August 02, 2023 at 05:29 PM
SUSAN- Hope you are doing well. It’s from Marketplace of India and has embroidery on it.
Posted by: Linda Brazill | Wednesday, August 02, 2023 at 06:31 PM
Impressive. You obviously know what you're doing when it comes to Yews. Thanks for sharing the story of your purchases. :)
Posted by: Beth@PlantPostings | Wednesday, August 02, 2023 at 08:11 PM
Yews are beautiful! Your green green garden, too.
Posted by: hb | Thursday, August 03, 2023 at 01:44 PM
Yes, fabulous smock! Isn't it interesting how our attitudes change with age and experience? And of course we are hopefully better off financially than when we were young. I just moved a weigela in the deep heat of summer into a full sun position and I'm hoping it survives. It's putting out some new leaves so if I remember to water it I think it will be okay. It hadn't done anything at all at its previous location where it had been living for years.
Posted by: Barbara H. | Thursday, August 03, 2023 at 08:58 PM
Heh heh, you might as well pot them up and call them bonsai!
I love the upright form though. If I had the checkbook for it I'd bring in fastigate boxwood, arborvitae, as well as yew and have the oddest garden of exclamation points. As it is I've been eyeing 'Skypencil' hollies and might splurge on one or two tiny ones... and then wait the 20 years for my reward?
Posted by: Frank | Thursday, August 03, 2023 at 09:02 PM
BARBARA — I am about to do the same thing with a Hydrangea. Looks like it will be a little cooler and yes, watering will be a must. I tend to deal with things when I have the time and energy, even if it's not the recommended time for the plant.
Posted by: Linda Brazill | Friday, August 04, 2023 at 11:13 AM
FRANK — That waiting for the reward is harder to do these days. I feel like time is flying for me and the shrubs are all still in their "first year sleep."
Posted by: Linda Brazill | Friday, August 04, 2023 at 11:15 AM
Aw, this post made my morning. I like how happy you look in that fun smock next to your yew.
Posted by: Jerry | Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 11:52 AM