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Q : The Round clipped yews in front of our 1917 farmhouse are overgrown and nearly hide the window . The theatre faces north — a shady , Laputan site on dry clay . We would like plantings that check the geological period of the house and give birds the nesting place and get over from wintertime jazz that the yew now cater . Can we just cut the yew back by half ? All their verdure is on the branch steer . Will they die if clip so severely?—Christine Aylesworth , Hebron , Ind.
A : Many a mansion has been engulfed by just yews , junipers , and other once - low-toned foundation plantings that have outgrow their site . Your well-to-do option is to stop barbering the yew into tight mounds and permit them to originate into the open , attractive trees they naturally are , with endearing reddish brown , flakey bark . Brace yourself , however , for several year during which they ’ll recall that dread phase when your hair is growing out of a short snub . at long last , the yews ’ airy , spreading leg will blockade less window area than the dull mass you have now ; but even then , the trees may still block more light and view than you ’re willing to sacrifice .
A more drastic , though reliable , choice is to cut the yews back hard . Unlike juniper , pine , or spruce , these evergreens sprout well from old , thick wood . Prune them in former spring , apply a balanced plant food , such as 10 - 10 - 10 , and water them through the summer . It may take a few age , but the yews will resuscitate — so smartly that only annual pruning will arrest them in check . In the long run , you might be good off replacing your upright yew with a compact multifariousness such as ‘ Nana ’ or ‘ Cross spread out , ’ which matures into a diffused , elegant bod that wo n’t encroach on the windows .
If you ’d plainly rather dispense with yews , the alternatives for foundation planting that can handle your site are limited . Other evergreens do n’t take kindly to dry refinement and abrasive winter steer — rhododendron , Turkish boxwood , holly , and mahonia would all resent the weather you draw . Deciduous shrub such as Korean or halcyon barberry , snowberry , bloom ‘ Benenden ’ raspberry , Korean spice viburnum , or a dwarf pattern of Tatarian honeysuckle are your practiced shots , and they all supply fruit and nesting opportunity for birds . As for work with the period of your house , forget about foundation garment plantings all . Using greenery to “ anchor ” a building ( as if it would otherwise drift off ) was n’t de rigueur until the 1940s and ’ 50s . put up your institution is in just human body , there ’s nothing to conceal . Let your lawn lap the masonry . Soften the melodic phrase of the façade with a small flowering tree such as redbud , Cornelian cherry tree , or serviceberry underplanted with refinement - fuck ground covering , light bulb , and perennials for people of colour .
