Hokkaido yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonia)

When you live in an area with a climate where frosts are not only frequent but also intense, you have to take a good look at which plants you are going to put in a garden since that is the only way to avoid spending money in vain. For example, him hokkaido yew It is a very good option, since it is evergreen and rustic.

Dare to know him and reserve a space for it in your garden. Surely you will not regret it 😉.

Origin and characteristics

Our protagonist is a tree native to Japan and China whose scientific name is Cephalotaxus harringtonia, although it is popularly known as Hokkaido yew. It is evergreen and reaches a maximum height of 10 meters, but the usual thing is that it stays more like a 3 or 4 meter bush, or even less as you can see in the image above.

The leaves are subdistic, measuring less than 5cm in length and about 4mm in width.. They have a dark green upper surface and the underside with two whitish bands. The male inflorescences appear on pedicles 1-2cm in length. The seeds are ovoid in shape, 2-3cm long and 1,5cm wide, reddish brown when ripe.

What are their cares?

If you decide to get a Hokkaido yew, we recommend providing the following care:

• Location: it must be outside, in semi-shade.
• Earth: grows in cool, loose soils.
• Irrigation: water 3-4 times a week in summer, and every 4 or 5 days the rest of the year.
• Subscriber: in spring and summer, with ecological fertilizers once a month.
• Multiplication: by seeds in autumn, since they need to be cold before germinating.
• Rusticity: resists up to -18ºC, but cannot live in hot climates.

What did you think of this tree?