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Taxus baccata

Canada Yew · Common Yew · English Yew

Family TaxaceaeGenus Taxus

A massive dark evergreen with a short trunk and layered spreading branches, on a grassy hillside, with a person at its foot for scale.
The whole plantSitomonCC BY-SA 2.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

The plant

Habit
Shrub, TreeExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Habit
treePlants of the World Online
Height
30-60 ft9-18 mExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Spread
15-25 ft4.6-7.6 mExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Flower
YellowPLANTS Database
Blooms
SpringPLANTS Database
Native range
Albania, Algeria, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Baltic States and elsewhereGBIF Backbone Taxonomy
Hardiness zones
6-7Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

Growing conditions

Sun
Full sun; Partial ShadeExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Soil
Loam (Silt), SandExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Soil pH
Neutral (6.0-8.0)Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Moisture
Good Drainage, MoistExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Watering
Drought tolerance: MediumPLANTS Database

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — NC State Extension; Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • Every part except the fleshy red aril is poisonous. Felling for longbows, and clearing to protect livestock from poisoning, once gravely threatened its populations. Wikipedia: Taxus baccata
  • Nothing else can grow in the shade of its evergreen canopy. Wikipedia: Taxus baccata

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 26, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on March 25, 2025.

  1. Clean the flesh off the seed

  2. Leach in running water

    Duration: 7 days

    Washed and cleaned daily for 7 days.

  3. Dry storage

    Duration: 180 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  4. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  5. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  6. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

    10 germinated in this phase.

  7. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  8. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  9. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  10. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

about 2 years from start to step 10. Germination happens during step 10, in 14 days.

35% germination in 14 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Taxus p. 219Public domain
Show the original text
Taxus (Taxaceae). T. baccata had some of the most extended germinations yet observed rivaling the Juno and Oncocyclus Iris. Seeds were WC for 7 d. Fresh seeds germ. 70-40-70(1%)-40-70(28% in 2nd w) and seeds DS 6 m at 70 germ. 70-40- 70(10%)-40-70-40-70(35% in 2nd w). Seeds started at 40 gave comparable patterns, and outdoor treatment gave equally extended germinations. Most of the seed was still firm and might germinate in further cycles.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Taxus p. 219. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 21, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on March 20, 2026.

  1. Clean the flesh off the seed

  2. Leach in running water

    Duration: 7 days

    Washed and cleaned daily for 7 days.

  3. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  4. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  5. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

    1 germinated in this phase.

  6. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  7. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

about 12 months from start to step 7. Germination happens during step 7, in 14 days.

28% germination in 14 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Taxus p. 219Public domain
Show the original text
Taxus (Taxaceae). T. baccata had some of the most extended germinations yet observed rivaling the Juno and Oncocyclus Iris. Seeds were WC for 7 d. Fresh seeds germ. 70-40-70(1%)-40-70(28% in 2nd w) and seeds DS 6 m at 70 germ. 70-40- 70(10%)-40-70-40-70(35% in 2nd w). Seeds started at 40 gave comparable patterns, and outdoor treatment gave equally extended germinations. Most of the seed was still firm and might germinate in further cycles.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Taxus p. 219. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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