Hide your home from prying eyes with Taxus Eleganza and Exotica

You don’t have to build a ten-foot wall to achieve privacy in your garden and home – in fact, that would be unnecessarily expensive! An alternative lies in the magic of hedging plants, particularly Taxus Eleganza and Exotica, two varieties of yew that make for excellent landscaping.

 

How to grow Taxus Eleganza and Exotica Flowering time: N/A Location: Hedging, landscaping, containers Soil: All soil types but they prefer a nutritious, permeable soil Light: Full sun or shade Water: Water well while establishing Care: Trim once per year in summer to early autumn

 

 

What’s different about these plants?

Taxus Eleganza and Exotica may look like any old yews from afar, but they’re quite the opposite!

First off, Taxus Eleganza is distinguished from common Taxus baccata by its uniform, bushy growth and fine needles. Its growth habit is upright, which makes it suitable for hedges, cloudy massifs and shapes. Plus, it is hardy down to -25°C.

With its fine, dark green needles, it has a beautiful, elegant appearance which makes it ideal not just as a privacy screen, but as an attractive addition to your outdoor area.

Taxus Eleganza is a male plant and therefore does not bear poisonous berries, and neither does Exotica!

Speaking of which, Exotica has curly, long needles that give this new variety an elegant, exotic touch. It features uniform and bushy growth, and is easy to grow in containers as a solitary plant or an eye-catching en masse display.

Both varieties grow in all soil types, but prefer a nutritious, permeable soil. They both grow well in full sun and shade, and make attractive additions to the yew range with their good vigour and fine needles.

 

Why use plants to create privacy? Hedges make fantastic alternatives to walls and fences when it comes to improving privacy in and around your home. Here’s why: Tall hedges can be grown or trimmed to your desired height (it’s difficult to increase or decrease the height of a fence!) When it comes to creating habitats for wildlife, hedges, shrubs and bushes are excellent additions to the garden! Hedges are often more attractive than a fence or wall, especially when trimmed to a neat shape.

 

How were these plants created?

Taxus media Eleganza is a new Taxus from Herplant BV’s breeding programme and was selected from many yew seedlings. The plant was named in 2009 and first extensively tested in use trials. These included use in gardens as well as its potential for uniform propagation and growth in the nursery. 

Taxus baccata Exotica was selected from many yew seedlings of Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’. It was a standout among the common fastigiata forms. Like Eleganza, the plant was named in 2009 and first extensively tested in use trials.

In 2015, both plants were introduced at the Grootgroenplus fair in Zundert as novelties. From April 2018, the first young plants were available to the market.

Where can you plant Taxus Eleganza and Exotica?

Suitable as a green privacy screen for your garden, Taxus Eleganza and Exotica make excellent high or low hedges, depending on how tall you keep them. What’s more, they can be used in landscaping layouts en masse, solo as feature plants, or in containers!

Where can you buy Taxus Eleganza and Exotica?

Taxus Eleganza and Exotica are available to buy in Europe from Buxusshop in Europe, and are coming soon to online retailers and garden centres in the UK.

 

Plant of the Month is sponsored by Plantipp, a company based in The Netherlands who handle the introduction of new plants into Europe.

See every Plant of the Month here.

Images courtesy of Plantipp.