Stimulating Backbudding on Taxus (Yew) Bonsai

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Spot on Jelle - you always give the information we need in an easy to understand way. I have some smaller Yews and I find that I do my shoot and branch pruning in early summer (as you mentioned) and then needle plucking around mid-August. It was something that Tony Tickle recommends in his tutorials and I like being able to space out sections of work. They are another good tree to work on.

[@GrowingBonsai]

Hi Xavier, Funny that you mention Tony. I have spent a few weekend with him a looong time ago, in which we indeed discussed Yew maintenance. Earlier needle plucking can help in backbuds opening the same year, however, not all years my yews are ready at that time yet. I guess it all comes down to listening to what the tree needs when!

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

@@GrowingBonsai you are spot on and as you have spoken to him directly you will have the best interpretation. It is great learning variations rather than misunderstanding a 'one size fits all' approach. Thank you for your insight on this. I am definitely not an expert😁

[@GrowingBonsai]

@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat We are all beginners in different stages of the process, and all the time we need to keep looking around asking for advice from all of us learners to get the optimal results! I can certainly recommend chatting with @TonyTickle re. Yews. Possibly the european expert on the species

[@BlueJayBonsai]

I don’t have any Yews, but you’ve inspired me to look for a Taxus cuspidata/Japanese yew. Thanks Jelle! 🐦💙

[@GrowingBonsai]

You should! Let me know when you find one! Maybe we can do a collaboration, with me sketching a design??

[@royhicks3957]

many thanks for this very easy to understand video on how to prune taxus, no complicated jargon, excellent!!

[@GrowingBonsai]

glad to hear it!

[@jeffhurst4744]

Another good video. Nice you included removal of old needles and how it helps back-budding. Now I will do it to the extent you discussed. Only removed some before.

[@GrowingBonsai]

hey, glad it was new to you. It makes a massive difference!

[@natrjack965]

Great video Jelle another masterclass from the master 👏...

[@GrowingBonsai]

You are too kind! I have some idea about common mistakes in bonsai, but Master, that is really overly kind! I think I need a few decades of learning!

[@natrjack965]

@@GrowingBonsai your videos have taught me a lot and I am truly grateful that you share your knowledge and experience with many beginners like my self ..a massive THANKS YELLE 😊

[@bradleyc9538]

Nice video, Jelle. Thank you. I love working with Taxus - they have so many great characteristics to offer.

[@GrowingBonsai]

I totally agree! It is maybe my favorite species, and certainly in my top5!

[@MehranAshkanian]

I just bought one today and was looking for information how to keep it in good health and make a Bonsai out of it Thanks

[@thenaturecreater8906]

Wow what beauty of a taxus!

[@GrowingBonsai]

Thank you! Origin: Garden hedgerow!

[@bartstellink307]

Love your videos man, so much good info. Thanks! Just got into taxus and really love them. On 1 of them I did a trunkchop (my first) and it popped out a huge amount of buds on old wood.

[@GrowingBonsai]

Great to hear! Love Taxus!

[@TOMSAI]

Wow what a cool tree ! And thx for showing how you get More backbutts ! 👌👍

[@GrowingBonsai]

You bet! I do hope you can get some more backbudding too :) The tree itself is a former hedgerow!

[@TOMSAI]

@@GrowingBonsai yes i Hope i will get some butts too .

[@GrowingBonsai]

@@TOMSAI Buds? Butts? I think there is a difference?

[@TOMSAI]

@@GrowingBonsai 😂😂 yes i think so too

[@GrowingBonsai]

@@TOMSAI 🤣

[@mokdog666]

Going to be a beautiful tree! What is the purpose of cut piece of pot around the base of the tree ?

[@GrowingBonsai]

Haha, very simple I am afraid.. To keep diggong birds out of the Nebari. I have several things in place as birdguards.

[@BonsaiJo]

What is the difference between Podocarpus Macrophyllus and the tree Taxus cuspidata

[@blaqfish]

Hello, I bought a yew from a big box store. I live in Georgia and it's July. Nothing has been done to it. Should it be wired first. Wait a few then prune to create back budding. Or should I prune it first the wait to start wiring. I almost feel as if I have spent money on something that is too complicated. I see a lot of videos with field grown trunks that are huge but most importantly, not yews. Can the secret be shared with this novice. It's outside now and growing well so I don't want to create a mess and kill it. The branches shoot straight up so I know it will have to be wired but I don't know the sequence. Any help you can give me would be great.Your channel was the first that talked about yews so I'm following for help. Thank you for sharing

[@GrowingBonsai]

Have a quick search on the channel. There should be 3 or so videos about yew/taxus. In general it is good to have a year between work on the branches and repot. But Yews are tolerant trees of abuse. Both orders will work.Healthy foliage helps with re-rooting in good substrate. Often it is easiest to wire young branches and trim thick old branches off, as Yew is very flexible and will return to shae after even 2 years of being wired. Backbudding is a story on its own, handled in the video!

[@alessandro4250]

Hi, nice video! I have a question, if I have for example one long branch (60 cm) with all the foliage in the apex, what I have to do to back bud at the start of the branch? Can I cut away all the foliage to backbud or the branch will die?

[@GrowingBonsai]

Hi Allesandro, if that is a yew, normally they backbud really well. WHen not the tree might be lacking energy? Is it generally growing well? I pretty much always get backbudding, assuming the branch gets lots of light and the tree is healthy. These actions work generally after you let the tree grow well, and then you prune strongly on all strong branches.

[@MehranAshkanian]

Hi Kelli. Can I prune the leaves in middle of October ? I just bought a Giant Yew with double thick trunks and trunks have natural bends going away from each other. It's very healthy and very bushy

[@GrowingBonsai]

Who is Kelli?

[@BraddersMusic]

Hi - I have long yew hedge on the front of my garden and would like to cut it back and if possible use the cuttings to propagate some bonsai yews! Any thoughts ?

[@GrowingBonsai]

Yes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYuol5uka9GDfq8

[@gayefanner731]

Gordon Bennet !!!

[@GrowingBonsai]

Are you suggesting something here?

[@gayefanner731]

Yes, what an awful lot of work! We’ve got enough to do with watering,feeding, shading, defoliating, potting n cosseting harvested air layers, working, parenting n everything living entails! I mean, come on...!!! ✌️

[@GrowingBonsai]

@@gayefanner731 Ohw, but Bonsai is a verb: To Bonsai! That means, work is core!

[@gayefanner731]

It’s a noun: tree in a pot

[@StephenTurnerVlogs]

Will it be fine to do now? End of summer/ start off autumn? I'm in Ireland.

[@GrowingBonsai]

Hi Stephen, it can still be done, but do not expect buds to open still. They would open in Spring.

[@StephenTurnerVlogs]

@@GrowingBonsai Thank you 😊

[@christianehilker5422]

Hallo Wäre schön wenn in Deutsch auch ein paar Videos wären Lg

[@GrowingBonsai]

Hallo Christiane, danke. Aber.. Leider ist mein deutsch nur halbsweg verstandlich. Ich glaube auch, die meiste leute konnen sich mit English abfinden, auf mindestens mer als auf Deutsch!