You should leave at least a little green. Very robust yews can be cut back
to bare wood (the only conifer I know of where this can be done) and still
pop new green growth, but if they're as thin as you say, then budding back
will be negligible/nonexistent. Is the area deeply shaded, or are the yews
crowded by other plantings?

Dave

"Tony" wrote in message
om...
I have a row of large, old (best estimate if 50 years) yews in my
backyard that I would like to try and revitalize. They were not
tended well for quite some time before I bought the house and they now
are nothing more than a thin green crown and all wood underneath.
There's almost no green on the sides.

What I'm wondering is if they would survive an almost complete cutback
and break wood. Or, if it's even worth the time to try. I would
still like to have a hedge there to screen my neighbor's yard.

Unfortunately, I do not know the exact variety of these shrubs. Only
that they are yews. Any information or suggestions would be useful.

Thanks