Yew from a friend

This is a Yew given to me by a friend...He gave up on this one:) Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do with it? Thanks-John

Hi John, I don't have much experience with yews. However, I do know that they bud back easily. I have even seen people remove all of the foliage to leave branch stubs, and the yew starts budding out. I see a shohin size tree if you cut back to leave stubs from the main branches. Just an idea.
Best, Todd

Hi John,

When I analyse the tree I see a problem of a second left branch. The first left branch is prominent and firmly in place but there is no second left branch. To grow another one would take ages and I am not too sure if grafting works for Yews. Having said that I try and evolve a design with what the tree has to offer here and now. This leaves the lower right branch and the second right branch. Rotating the whole tree to the right by about 0 degrees would make a convincing (semi?)cascade as in the (poorly made) virt below... The trunk and a few other branches go...

What do you think??

Regards
Ravi

Hi John, the first thing you need to do with your new tree is feed & water it well to develop plenty of new growth, don't bother pruning it at all this growing season. What you need to develop is lots of fine new growth all over the tree which you can use to create your branches.
During the growing season, loosly wire any branches (you want to keep) slightly downwards as yew tend to grow upwards, which creates the problem of the awkward angle where branch leaves trunk. Then repeat the process again next year, but allow your newly chosen branches to grow unrestricted, only pruning them when they are the required thickness.
Build the tree in stages, don't be in too much of a hurry, if you leave yews to grow and build up energy they will reward you with prolific growth and budding.
The branches currently on the tree are too thick and growing upwards from the trunk, it's doubtful that you'll be able to bend them down enough to create the desired angle where they exit the trunk. You could keep any of the 3 lower branches as a new leader or primary branch depending upon what design you decide to go for. No real need to prune any of them off at this time as you can use them for jins if desired in your final design.
The thickness of the trunk suggests a shohin size tree to me.
Have fun.

Hello John,
How old are those cuts at the front of the tree?
You might find yourself with some dieback of the lifeveine underneath of them?
I would cut the right big branch in stages, so the lifeveine can choose his own new way,
and use the second right branch as top branche, so the current top of.
John Brocklehurst gave already some good advise,
i would go from there with the building up of new branches.
When shoots come out of the trunk, bend the desired ones careful horizontal
by placing something between the trunk and the shoot, later you can wire.
Yews don't like dry surface roots, personally i give them a layer of old cow manure,
you cover the surface and they love the manure, after some months you find a lot of new roots underneath the manure.
Regards, Sunip;)

Todd,,Ravi,, John,,Sunip,, I thank you all for your comments very much... i do have a problom on the left side with no branch..the pruned branches are about 2 weeks old.. letting the tree grow is a good idea to see what pops with new growth.. so you all think there should be no more pruneing ??? The cow manure won,t burn the roots??? Thank you all,,,take care john

Windswept? Something like this maybe?

LEE,, Thank you for your virtul and suggestion...that is food for thought,,,i had not thought about windswept..thanks take care john

Hi John, I fully understand why your friend gave up on this tree... There is only one plan for this tree, plant it out, let it thicken/create character at least produce SOME endearing features, currently it has none. If you are not prepared to do that... Do as your friend did... Pass it on.

Hello John,
I wrote: old cow manure, thats means by me a least 3-4 years old. (i use now left over manure that is 8 years old)
About no more pruning, i mentioned two branches who could be pruned in stages.
Thing is, it seems the picture shows some invers taper, so some time in the ground or in a pot would be good like Tony mentioned.
See what shows up, yes you need some patience with this one.
regards, Sunip

Tony and Sunip,,,Thank you both for the suggestions...I Know this plant is not good.. One more question,,,what about the wind swept virtual???? that looks pretty good to me and i do not have a tree in that style.....just asking...thank you take care john

Hi John currently the plant has NO endearing features, do no work until it has.

Hi John

I'm with Tony on this one, get it back into the ground and develop the roots and lower trunk, John B is right you will get lots of new growth over time that you can work with. I put mine in the garden last year and have just dug it up, [Cause I had to due to house sale] It had gone mad and now needs a good haircut as well as being able to select from loads of new roots.

When it was in the ground, all I used was blood, fish and bone for a slow release feed.

Paul

Tony and paul,,,Thank you both for your suggestion,,like i said this is not a good tree to work with...i can,t put it in the ground but i can get a large shallow container and let it go!!! thanks for helping me we will see what happens with this one,,,thanks take care john