Japanese Blueberries and Yew Problems in the Desert

Q. About one month ago my landscaper recommended watering six days a week for 20 minutes because he thought one of our Japanese blueberries and Podocarpus (Japanese Yew or Yew pine) were not getting enough water. They were planted about six months ago during the winter months when it was cool and now they are not looking healthy.

A. If you follow me here or on my blog you know I’m not a big fan of planting Japanese blueberries in our desert climate and soils. Maybe one or two as specimens but not a bunch in a straight line and used for privacy. I don’t like Yew pine either for similar reasons, but I seldom get questions about yew pine. I get more complaints about Japanese blueberry failing in home landscapes than any other plant except maybe bottle tree.

Wrong Exposure

            People buy both Japanese blueberry and yew and put them in the wrong places in a landscape, fail to amend the soil properly at planting and surround them with rock. Someone is doing a good job selling them as privacy hedges near a wall. That’s a mistake in my opinion and I wish it would stop.

Watering

            I am assuming you are watering these plants three or four times a week and your landscaper is suggesting watering daily. Watering three or four times a week will be enough water for these plants during the summer if they receive enough water each time. Daily watering any types of trees and shrubs is a mistake. That’s not an opinion. That’s a fact. Don’t go there if you don’t have to. Your plants may not be any better off after this change if they were planted in the wrong place at the start.

            I suspect that both types of plants were planted in the wrong location in the landscape. Both plants like shade in the afternoon when temperatures are above 100° F. They struggle if planted in full sun in our desert climate. They will look bad during the hot summer months when planted near hot walls. Remember this when you are evaluating your plants.

Amend Soils

            Both plants prefer highly amended soils at the time of planting. They are not true desert plants, so they will require extra TLC. If these plants are surrounded by rock they will begin to struggle in 3 to 5 years. If you do plant them, make sure the soil is amended with a good quality compost at planting and surround them with 4 inches of woodchips on the soil surface rather than rock.

What to do? 

Rather than increase your irrigation to daily, increase the number of emitters or size of emitters around those plants. Increase the amount of water delivered to them so that it wets the soil to at least 18 inches deep. This can be done without increasing the minutes needed. The soil should be wet out to the dripline of the plant. Irrigate them deeply 3 to 4 times a week, not shallow irrigations daily. The only plants in a landscape that require daily irrigations during the summer are lawns, raised beds and annual flowers.

            If you think these plants should be moved to a different landscape location, replant them during the fall and winter months. Remove 1/3 of the tops after they are moved. You can successfully move plants that were growing up to two or even three years in the ground if done correctly.