Taxus Live Vein Refinement

A week ago I noticed that a line had appeared in the bark of my windswept Yew, running parallel to the main shari on the trunk. Under inspection it became apparent that the live tissue had died back from the original line that was cut last November.

Using a finger nail, I was able to pick at the bark to reveal where the live vein ran - live being green under the bark.

Then, using a knife I picked the dead bark from the trunk, creating a much clearer definition to the live vein. Although not as severe, there was also some die back to the left of the shari - this too was treated in the same manor. All deadwood was then treated with lime sulphur. The deadwood still looks quite fresh at the moment and further refinement work will be needed in the future. I am particularly interested in looking into the possibility of sandblasting the wood which is a technique that I am aware of Tony Tickle using on his Taxus.

Live vein refined