Taxus baccata

English yew

• Position: full sun or partial shade
• Soil: any fertile, well-drained soil
• Rate of growth: slow-growing
• Other features: yellow, male cones in spring; female plants produce fleshy, cup-shaped, bright red autumn fruits; all parts of the plant are highly toxic if ingested
• Hardiness: fully hardy
  
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  Needle-like, dark green leaves on horizontal branches and fleshy, cup-shaped, bright-red autumn fruits on female plants. The dark green foliage of this slow-growing, evergreen conifer provides an excellent background for shrub and herbaceous borders. Broadly conical in shape, it's tolerant to dry shade, chalky and acid soils and urban pollution. Common box makes a fabulous formal hedge.
  
  
• Garden care: Trim or renovate in summer or early autumn.