Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Chinese Yew bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Chinese Yew (Taxus chinensis).

More about chinese yew

About Chinese Yew

Taxus chinensis · also called Chinese Yew · flowering

Chinese Yew is a slow-growing evergreen tree or large shrub native to forest understoreys across central and southern China, at elevations of 1,000–3,500 m. It is an important source of taxol precursors for the pharmaceutical industry and is used in traditional Chinese landscaping. With flat, dark-green needles, red arils, and handsome reddish-brown bark, it is a refined specimen tree for temperate gardens. All non-aril parts are severely toxic.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Yew gall midge (Taxomyia taxi): The larva induces abnormal bud galls (artichoke-like clusters) that distort and abort shoot growth. In severe cases, growth is significantly stunted. Remove and destroy affected galls by hand; timing insecticide sprays at adult emergence (late spring) can reduce populations.

The reasons chinese yew isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming chinese yew traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding chinese yew a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get chinese yew to flower

Maximise sun. Give chinese yew the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for chinese yew and get the feeding right with the chinese yew fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Chinese Yew flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full chinese yew care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Chinese Yew blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my chinese yew flower?

Chinese Yew blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make chinese yew bloom?

Give chinese yew the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does chinese yew normally bloom?