Taxus x media 'Hicksii'

Common name: Hicks Yew

Description: This columnar yew cultivar is an outstanding choice for creating formal hedges, screens, or vertical accents in the garden. The dense, upright growth habit naturally forms a narrow column without extensive pruning, making it ideal for tight spaces or formal designs. The dark green needle-like foliage is arranged in attractive sprays and maintains excellent colour throughout the year. Unlike many yews, 'Hicksii' is a female cultivar that produces bright red berries in autumn when a male pollinator is nearby, adding seasonal colour and providing food for birds. This cultivar tolerates heavy pruning and responds well to formal shaping or topiary work. The naturally tight, columnar form makes it perfect for flanking entrances, creating evergreen boundaries, or adding vertical structure to borders.

Other benefits: evergreen foliage, naturally columnar habit, excellent for formal hedging, produces red berries, tolerates heavy pruning and topiary, deer resistant, long-lived

Wildlife attraction: birds (berries provide important winter food, though seeds are toxic), shelter for nesting birds

Height & spread (approx.) at 10 years: 3m x 1m

Position: full sun to full shade; extremely shade tolerant

Soil pH: highly adaptable; thrives in neutral to alkaline soils; tolerates chalky conditions

Moisture: moderate watering when establishing; tolerates a wide range of moisture conditions once established; prefers well-drained soil

Winter hardiness: fully hardy to -25°C and below