In article ,
W. Curtiss Priest wrote:
"andrewpreece" wrote in message ...
"W. Curtiss Priest" wrote in message
...

We have 3 yew trees, and we are just north of Boston, MA.

They did fine until 2 years ago.
...
Don't know that this is your problem, but AFAIK Yews don't like "getting
their feet wet". They need good drainage. If that were the problem, you
would be compounding it by watering , but I presume you are certain that
they are in dry soil?

Uum. OK. Yes, the soil is mostly dry. This area varies. But,
our basement, for example, hardly ever shows even a bit of wetness
during heavy rains and/or high water table.

But, we won't water based on what you say.

They are certainly dry-soil trees in the UK, but remember that we are
a lot wetter than you are. You mentioned the problem of a very dry
winter (under frozen soil assumed) - this just doesn't happen in the
UK, where our winter problem is typically waterlogging.

They could well have had their roots damaged by that, but I would
have expected recovery in 2 years. As they regrow well from old wood,
and are very pest and disease resistant, don't write them off until
they are dead. The ones that show new growth will almost certainly
be fine, but may lose some of the yellowed growth.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.