Illustration
Canada Yew
Taxus canadensis
Also called american yew, canadian yew and ground hemlock
Canada Yew is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Canada Yew
Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 2–7. Expect it to reach about 4.5 ft tall and 7 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 10 years (a house reading).
Is Canada Yew toxic to dogs or cats?
- Listed as toxic to dogs and cats by NC State Extension and Pet Poison Helpline.
- Listed as poisonous to people by NC State Extension.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Canada Yew
Plant Canada Yew in spring once the soil is workable, or by very early fall at the latest: an evergreen needs its roots down well before the ground freezes. In zone 5, the middle of its hardy zones 2 to 7, that is April to June, or August on the fall side.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 5, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 5 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Canada Yew get?
4.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult7 ftwideSee Canada Yew in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Canada Yew
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Canada Yew about 7 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Canada Yew to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Canada Yew's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags were checked against 7 published sources on November 5, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources. Bloom was checked as well: Canada Yew bears no flowers, so there is no bloom window for a source to carry.
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags
- Oregon State UniversityLandscape Plantsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags
- nvknurseries.comNVK Nurseriesheight, spread, sun, water and trait tags
- plantdatabase.uconn.eduUniversity of Connecticut Plant Databaseheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and water
- research.fs.usda.govUSDA Forest Service Fire Effects Information Systemheight, spread, sun and water
- conifers.orgThe Gymnosperm Databaseheight
- conifersociety.orgAmerican Conifer Society Conifer Databaseheight
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 21 states and 8 provinces
United States: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and 9 more
Canada: Labrador, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec
Recorded growing wild in 333 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.