Viridis Yew

Viridis Yew (Taxus x media 'Viridis')

Viridis Yew is a narrow evergreen that adds strong vertical structure when you want privacy and year-round polish without giving up bed space. Its brighter green foliage brings a fresh look compared to many darker yews, helping foundations and borders feel more finished in every season. The naturally columnar habit works well for tight side yards and narrow planting strips where wider evergreens become a problem. If you need an adaptable, long-lived screen that can also be kept crisp with light pruning, this is a reliable choice.

Distinctive Features

This intermediate yew forms a narrowly upright, columnar shrub with dense branching and bright green needles that often emerge yellow-green in spring before maturing to green. The tight habit makes it a strong architectural plant for repeating vertical lines and building privacy in limited space. It tolerates pruning very well, so it can be maintained as a clean hedge or left to hold its natural form. As with other yews, it is dioecious, so red arils may appear on female plants if pollinated, and all parts are toxic if ingested.

Growing Conditions

• Sun: Full sun to shade, with best density often in full sun to part shade.
• Soil: Well-drained soil is essential, and it adapts to loam, sand, or clay when wet conditions are avoided.
• Water: Medium moisture, keep evenly moist while establishing, then water during extended dry periods.
• USDA Zones: Zones 4 to 7.
• Mature Size: Typically 10 to 12 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide.
• Habit: Narrowly upright, columnar evergreen shrub.

Ideal Uses

• Focal Point: Use it as a focal point where a slim evergreen column can anchor the design and add year-round structure.
• Privacy Screen: Plant in a row to create a dense screen in tight corridors where wider evergreens will not fit.
• Hedge: Shear lightly to form a clean, vertical hedge with dependable winter presence.
• Foundation Accents: Place near corners and vertical lines to add height and balance without crowding the bed.
• Evergreen Backdrop: Set behind flowering shrubs and perennials to keep borders looking finished in every season.

Low Maintenance Care

• Pruning: Prune in late winter to early spring or after the main flush of growth to maintain density and control size.
• Watering: Water deeply during the first growing season, then provide supplemental water during drought to prevent stress.
• Mulching: Mulch the root zone to conserve moisture and reduce weeds, keeping mulch a few inches away from the stems.
• Drainage: Avoid wet, poorly drained soils to reduce the risk of root problems over time.
• Deer Protection: Protect where deer pressure is high because yews can be severely browsed.

Why Choose Viridis Yew?

• Space Efficient Privacy: A narrow form delivers screening and structure without taking up valuable width.
• Bright Evergreen Color: Fresh green foliage, with yellow-green spring growth, helps plantings look lively and finished.
• Pruning Friendly: Handles shearing and shaping well for hedges, screens, and clean architectural lines.
• Flexible Light Tolerance: Performs from sun to shade, giving you more placement options than many evergreens.
• Four Season Structure: Dense branching and evergreen needles provide reliable winter presence and year-round order.

Viridis Yew is best when you give it good drainage, steady moisture while it establishes, and a placement where the narrow habit solves a real spacing problem. Once settled, it becomes a dependable evergreen screen that keeps the landscape looking intentional through winter and beyond. In areas with deer activity, plan protection so it can maintain its dense, finished look.