The new growth on mine flop over because they are in an area where they get too much sun.

Overnight and on cooler cloudy days then tend to straighten up overnight.

Thanks for the brainstorming. My yard is definitely not full sun. It’s tight urban lots with tall old houses and a string of Norway maples on the other side of the white fence. I have moss.

Will they straighten up? I want a more manicured look.

They aren’t even leaning toward the sun from what I can see. ?????!

If you recently planted them, the roots take time to establish. Keep them well watered the rest of this season. They like afternoon shade but partial shade any time of day is good.

Those do look a little neglected by whoever had them before you and it would've been advisable to straighten out the roots as much as possible before planting. IME, once new growth has begun, you don't want to get too aggressive with the roots before planting. But yews are very hardy and once the roots expand and grow, talking next season, yews take well to pruning and will even sprout new growth from dormant buds of the old wood, as time goes on, you should be able to get them looking good.

They are not rootbound at all. I did have to pull a few of the roots out at the sides but nothing was coming out or wrapped on the bottom. I feel like other hicks yews are trimmed short and these were not, which appealed to me because I do want the height but now I’m not so sure.

Should I support them somehow? Like cage or tie them? They seem healthy just super floppy.

You certainly could tie a string around them to keep them upright. Once they harden of next Fall, they might stand by themselves or may take another season of support.

I would say too is take off some of the tops to reduce top heaviness but being you want height... It may still be a good idea to take some of the tops off, that will open up the plant and allow time for the lower areas to fill in. Yours is not an ideal situation but if you're patient, you should be able to get them into good form over the next couple of seasons.

Can I prune them down any time? How much water is enough s too much? It’s been raining every few days here and I water almost every day.

Versus not “s”

You dig a 4-6 inch hole into the rootball and feel …if it is moist, don’t water.

tj

You don't need to drown them but they do like a consistently moist (not soaking wet) soil.

Just check the soil by digging in some, before watering to see if it needs to be watered. A little dry on top won't hurt it.

Some pruning now won't hurt the plant but remember, the yew is suffering some shock in its new location and its priority now is making roots and establishing itself.

Here's an excerpt from a pruning chart from Virginia tech suggesting pruning schedules.

Very few months are not recommended for pruning but imo, you might want to wait until next year before getting too carried away. eta: by then you'll be able to tell which stalks will stand and which ones won't. ;-)

Thank you so much! I will put in some supports today!

i think. on some level.. your base problem is you bought large overgrown stock.. to get some level on immediate impact...

i THINK i would have chosen the smaller plants.. to avoid this issue... it might take an extra year or two to get them to size.. but you would have avoided all this stress .. your stress.. and the plant stress ...

we usually dont recommend pruning new transplants .. every leaf is an energy producing machine.. and right now.. we want all the energy we can make.. to grow the roots.. to get the plant established.. so that you can start pruning on them...i might do dome pruning in fall ...

your plants are stressed after planting.. fert is not a response to stress... and you sure dont need more excessive growth ... just water properly ..... letting them near dry before the next watering...

ken

The new Hick's Yew are loaded with heavy, fresh green, pliable new spring growth and it has been raining every few days you say. Of course the new growth is going to be a bit floppy when wet.

Leave them alone. No pruning is needed. They will harden off and starighten up over the growing season. You just need to keep them properly watered which is none if it is raing every other day.