© The Dabney Nursery
Plant: Duke Gardens - Plum Yew
Plum Yew · Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Duke Gardens'
Size: 3 gal
Light
Bloom
Mature size
More about this plant
A slow growing, low spreading evergreen with arching to vase shaped branches, reaching only 2 to 4 feet tall and wide. The glossy dark green needle-like leaves are held in two ranks and carry two white bands beneath. It performs in full sun where summers are cool but prefers partial to deep shade in warm regions, and tolerates clay or sand with good drainage once established. Deer avoid it and it is drought and heat tolerant, which makes it a dependable accent, low hedge, border or foundation plant for shaded small spaces. Duke Gardens is a male selection, so it does not set the fleshy red seed the species can produce. Bark, leaves and seeds are poisonous if eaten and can cause contact dermatitis.
- Full Shade
- Grows to 4 ft tall and 4 ft wide
- Blooms in spring
- Hardy in USDA zones 6-9
- Evergreen foliage
Plant description
A slow growing, low spreading evergreen with arching to vase shaped branches, reaching only 2 to 4 feet tall and wide. The glossy dark green needle-like leaves are held in two ranks and carry two white bands beneath. It performs in full sun where summers are cool but prefers partial to deep shade in warm regions, and tolerates clay or sand with good drainage once established. Deer avoid it and it is drought and heat tolerant, which makes it a dependable accent, low hedge, border or foundation plant for shaded small spaces. Duke Gardens is a male selection, so it does not set the fleshy red seed the species can produce. Bark, leaves and seeds are poisonous if eaten and can cause contact dermatitis.
- Flowers
- Male and female cones are borne on separate plants. This cultivar is male, so it does not produce seeds.
- Foliage
- Glossy dark green needle-like leaves 1 to 2.5 inches long, held in two ranks along the stem, with two white glaucous bands on the underside.
- Fruit
- As a male cultivar it does not set the fleshy seeds the species produces.
- Native range
- Cultivar discovered at Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham, North Carolina; the species is native to Asia
