© The Dabney Nursery
Plant: Fastigiata - Upright Plum Yew
Plum Yew · Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Fastigiata'
Size: 3 gal
Light
Bloom
Mature size
More about this plant
An upright, columnar plum yew whose strongly ascending branches carry spirally arranged dark green needles, reaching roughly 8 to 10 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide. It grows slowly and is one of the few narrow evergreens that will hold its form in deep shade, which is how it is used as a shade tolerant alternative to Sky Pencil holly. It accepts clay or sandy soil across a wide pH band provided drainage is good, and once established is deer resistant, drought tolerant and heat tolerant. Use it as a vertical accent, a narrow screen or a repeated form in a shade garden. Bark, leaves and seeds are poisonous if eaten and can cause contact dermatitis.
- Full Shade
- Grows to 10 ft tall and 8 ft wide
- Blooms in spring
- Hardy in USDA zones 6-9
- Evergreen foliage
Plant description
An upright, columnar plum yew whose strongly ascending branches carry spirally arranged dark green needles, reaching roughly 8 to 10 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide. It grows slowly and is one of the few narrow evergreens that will hold its form in deep shade, which is how it is used as a shade tolerant alternative to Sky Pencil holly. It accepts clay or sandy soil across a wide pH band provided drainage is good, and once established is deer resistant, drought tolerant and heat tolerant. Use it as a vertical accent, a narrow screen or a repeated form in a shade garden. Bark, leaves and seeds are poisonous if eaten and can cause contact dermatitis.
- Flowers
- Non-showy yellow pollen sacs enclosed in a cone on male plants; female plants bear naked seeds.
- Foliage
- Dark green needle-like leaves under about 1.2 inches long, spirally arranged in the juvenile state, with two white glaucous bands on the underside.
- Fruit
- On female plants, olive-like, red, fleshy seeds that resemble small plums.
- Light
- Deep Shade
- Native range
- Assam and China (species)
