setting the plant aside.. do you need the specific spaces???

speed of recovery ... might be affected by amount of direct sun ... thought things might cope with less than full sun ... they might not thrive .. as in.. growing fast ...

ken

Yews do quite well in shade, though.

yes they do just fine ... BUT ... in tree time they will recover.. or assume a more natural form and size ....

but the greater the shade.. the less the sun ... the longer tree time becomes ...

tolerance of shade says nothing about 'thriving' ... growing with speed ...

e.g. a tree in full sun ... might grow ... say 2 feet per year .. not a yew.. lol .. in MI anyway ... but in reduced sun.. aka shade ... it might only grow 1 foot ... so its just slower ...

ken

ps: its the difference between a plant being shade TOLERANT ... versus growing to its highest potential .... which normally happens in full sun ... though full sun with shade plants might also become a water availability issue .. e.g. hosta.. which grow like weeds in full sun ... but quickly look like carp.. because they give off.. transpire.. more water than they can suck up...

I would probably just ignore them if they were a single yew. But somehow the fact that there were two planted made me curious what the intention might have been. They aren’t flanking anything but maybe they should be? To me the best uses of a yew are 1) a dense screen. 2) backdrop for something else you want to stand out, or 3) a topiary or form to give a note of formality. This area is planned to be a red garden so dark yews don’t add much. Im not someone who tosses plants out. I always find a spot or use for them. But what is the best use of a pair of unidentified yews?

Dark yews look fabulous with red flowers. Can you grow Tropaeolum speciosum? That looks wonderful climbing through yew.

Ah thats the gorgeous nasturtium I saw all over everything at the Edinburgh Botanical garden! I tried to find it here but it’s not hardy in my zone 6b. It’s such a vibrant red it would show up against dark green. Not many reds would.

Ken agree but yews can do just fine in shade. Better than just tolerate. At least here. But here even roses are grateful for some shade!

floral I remember being at Levens Hall years ago and seeing that vine twined through the Taxus topiary and being just enchanted with the color combination.