Is Yew A Good Tree For Bonsai?

There are two main types of yew, English Yew (taxus baccata) and Japanese Yew (taxus cuspidata). Both are used in bonsai and of course you will find the Japanese one to be more common in Japan and the English one to be more common in Europe.

Both species are very similar, but I will mainly be talking about the English yew as this is the only species I have had any interaction with. Based on the fact that the Japanese yew is used for bonsai in Japan would suggest that it is very suitable for bonsai, but that is really all I can say about. (You can see the development of my tree in my Yew Bonsai Progression)

English yew is found all over Europe and is often used as hedges and topiary, they work very well as both due to their ability to be pruned and build very dense foliage.  

Is Yew A Good Species for Bonsai?

Yew is great for bonsai. It does have its draw backs, but overall it is fantastic and you can make some unbelievable trees using this species. It can be used to make a small tree but it really suits a larger tree. Yews with big powerful trunks are just amazing.

The problem is that it’s slow growing and can take forever to thicken and develop. Even if you manage to get a great piece of material like a stump form a hedge, it can still take many years to develop this into a bonsai.

The long wait and the hard work is well worth it as the yew has excellent foliage and bark for bonsai and it is pretty easy to care for. You can really end up with something special if you use a yew for bonsai.   

    

Is Yew Foliage Good For Bonsai?

Yews have needle like foliage that looks amazing and is perfect for bonsai. Certain trees will also be able to grow little red berries. This will depend on your trees gender. Only females will grow berries, but you will need a male tree nearby to pollinate them.

Leaf Size

The needles are pretty small to start with, but they will also reduce a lot through bonsai techniques.

Internode Length

The length in between the needles can also be very small, especially if the right techniques are used.  This along with the small leaves makes them perfect for bonsai.

Is A Yews Growth Rate Good For Bonsai?

The yew tree is very slow growing. This will make growing it as a bonsai very frustrating. Growing a really good yew is the true test of your patience and it is why you can get such a high reward if you stick with it over the long term.

Response To Pruning

Yew responds well to pruning, but only if you do it correctly. If you just prune it like any other tree you will get new shoots where you prune, which is fine, but the tree will just keep getting bigger every year.

Yews are evergreen and need their foliage. They will not act the same way as a deciduous tree and you really need to prune a yew properly. You need to follow the steps in my Yew Care Guide.

Basically you need to prune in a way that will promote back budding. The work you do this season will not show results until the following year, which gives you an idea of how slow it is working with a yew.

If you do this process properly you will have plenty of back buds. This will both build ramification as well as give you more foliage, and it actually gives you a branch to cut back to. If you do this, it will allow you to shorten your branches, while still keeping foliage on them. If you remove all the foliage from a branch it can die, so it’s important to do it this way.

If you do this technique properly you can end up with a very compact, well ramified tree, which is exactly what you need for bonsai.

Is A Yews Styling Ability Good For Bonsai?

Being an evergreen, yews look better when styled like other evergreens, such as junipers or pine. They are best suited with styles that have the branches sweeping down and have individual foliage pads.

Wiring

You will need to wire your yew into shape as they often want to grow upwards, which is going against their prefer style. Wire will make sure you can get the branches to go where you need them. you can build your foliage pads with pruning and maybe some detailed wiring at the tips if you want a really defined tree.

Is A Yews Fall Colours Good For Bonsai?

As the yew is evergreen you will not get to enjoy any autumn colours or winter silhouette. If you have a female tree, you may get to see the red berries at this time of year. This can be quite rare on bonsai, as usually the branch trips are pruned during the summer, which is where these berries would form.

Is A Yews Bark Good For Bonsai?

The bark on an old yew is amazing. It is almost a deep rich red colour at times and is incredible. It is also very textured and just interesting to look at. This can bring a lot of character to your tree. This can be made even more powerful through deadwood

Deadwood works both for branches and on the trunk. You will also find carved areas can look amazing on a yew. Normally when you think of amazing deadwood you might think of pines or junipers, I think yews can easily sit alongside these two as you can have some seriously great trunks on a yew bonsai.    

Are A Yews Roots Good For Bonsai?

The roots of a yew are also slow growing and they don’t like to be too wet. Once a tree is healthy and ready for repot you can be quite aggressive with the roots. Dont go too crazy, you want to keep enough on to keep the tree alive, but compared to a pine you can certainly work the roots a lot more.

You can also get a very impressive root ball after a number of years, which is exactly what you need for a bonsai. 

Is Yew Easy To Care For As Bonsai?

Yews are not difficult to look after and the fact that they are very slow growing can make them a pretty stress free tree. You just need to give them the basics and let them do their thing.

Conclusion

If you are in Europe the English yew is one of the best trees you can find locally and use for bonsai. If you can get some good material to start with and are willing to be patient, you can really end up with a world class tree.