Taxus baccata Kupfergold - Yew

Taxus baccata 'Kupfergold' is a bright variety of common yew, contrasting with the slightly austere look of the species. Adorned with beautiful golden foliage, this conifer slowly forms a beautiful dense specimen, almost as wide as it is high. Being a compact bush, it is well suited to small gardens, where it can be planted alone or integrated into a bed, lighting it up with its cheerful colour all year round. Easy to grow, this hardy conifer adapts to most soils and grows in both sun and partial shade.

Very present in the oldest gardens and parks in Europe, Taxus baccata can live for many years. Their longevity is indeed remarkable and can reach several centuries. The species, now rare in the wild, is native to Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa. Some specimens growing in the Verdon gorges are believed to be over a thousand years old. You can admire impressive specimens in old gardens or cemeteries, near churches for symbolic reasons (considered as the link between heaven and earth). The needles, bark, leaves, and fruits are toxic to humans and animals, except for birds that consume the berries while rejecting the seeds. The common yew is a non-resinous conifer from the small Taxaceae family, whose toxic seeds are not contained in cones, but in arils (red fruits whose pulp is not toxic).

The cultivar 'Kupfergold' (copper gold in German, referring to its foliage colour) is distinguished by slow growth, a wide and rather spreading habit, and golden foliage. It slowly forms a bush about 2m (7ft) high and 1.5 to 1.8m (5 to 6ft) wide. It reaches maturity after 20 to 50 years: it's a plant for patient gardeners! Its evergreen foliage displays a beautiful golden green colour all year round, which is particularly bright and welcome during the dark winter days. Its branchlets are adorned with flat needles, yellow to yellow-green and shiny with a marked reverse of 2 white bands, pointed at the end, but very soft to the touch. Yew is a solid plant, resistant to cold (-20°C (-4°F), or even below), tolerating most soils and rather resistant to drought once well rooted. It grows in sun or partial shade, even in full shade in hot and dry climates. All parts of this plant (except the pulp of the fruit) being very toxic, care should be taken with children to avoid any accident.

Taxus baccata 'Kupfergold' is an easy-to-grow conifer. It will look beautiful Isolated on a lawn. However, be patient, as its growth is really not fast. It may be advisable to plant it mixed in a bed, taking care not to plant fast-growing plants near it that could suffocate it. It can be planted with other slow-growing conifers with complementary colours, such as Pinus mugo 'Mops', a mountain pine with beautiful green foliage, or Picea glauca 'Laurin', a nice regular light green cone in spring, becoming glaucous in winter. Beautiful contrasts can be created by juxtaposing conifers with blue foliage like the superb Picea pungens Glauca 'Globosa', or the sculptural Juniperus scopulorum 'Skyrocket', with its slender columnar habit. For stronger colour oppositions, the almost black purple of Sambucus nigra 'Black Tower' will be perfect, just like Berberis thunbergii 'Red Rocket', with its very upright habit and purple foliage turning red in the autumn.