Geers

Yew

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Sunburst' and 'Hicksii'

Summary: 'Geers' has a spreading/arching growth habit while 'Sunburst' has a spreading growth habit and 'Hicksii' has a columnar growth habit. 'Geers' has a light green-yellow branch colour while 'Hicksii' has a medium green branch colour. 'Geers' has weak anthocyanin colouration in branchlet stem while the reference varieties have no anthocyanin. 'Geers' has a shorter leaf length than 'Hicksii'. The leaf of 'Geers' has yellow secondary colour while the leaf of 'Hicksii' has no secondary colour. The secondary colour is located at the leaf apex for 'Geers' while it is at the apex and margin for 'Sunburst'.

Description:

'Geers' has a spreading/arching growth habit with medium to dense foliage. Branching density is medium and the branch attitude is erect to semi-erect. The branches are moderately stiff and the bark is brown in colour. Branchlet density is medium to dense and the stem colour is light green-yellow. There is weak anthocyanin on the branchlet stem.

The leaves are arranged semi-radially around the axis of the branchlet stem. The leaf is linear in shape with an acute apex and cuneate base. The leaf margin is entire and flat. The leaf density is closed to overlapping and glossiness on the upper side of the leaf is medium. Prominence of the midrib is medium on the upper side of the leaf and weak on the lower side. On new summer growth, the upper side of the leaf is light to medium green in colour and the lower side is light yellow green. There is a small to medium amount of secondary colour present on the apex of the leaf which is yellow in colour. The one year old leaf is dark green on the upper side with yellow at the apex and the lower side is brown green. There is a very short petiole present.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Geers' was discovered as a chance mutation in 1993 at the breeders nursery in Boskoop, The Netherlands. The new variety was selected based on its yellow-green foliage, excellent appearance, slow growth and resistance to burn. The new variety was first propagated by hardwood cuttings in 1996, in Boskoop, The Netherlands.

Tests & Trials: 'Geers' was tested in an outdoor container trial during the summers of 2004 and 2005, in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included 15 plants of each variety. The candidate and reference variety 'Hicksii' were grown from four inch liners and planted into 2 gallon containers in May 2004, then transplanted into 3 gallon containers on July 2, 2004. Plants of 'Sunburst' were grown as 50 cm balled and burlaped plants. Plants were arranged in rows with approximately 1 metre spacing between plants. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on August 14, 2005. All colour measurements were made using the 2001 RHS colour chart.

Comparison tables for 'Geers' with reference varieties 'Sunburst' and 'Hicksii'

Leaf length (cm)

Colour of leaf (RHS)

Colour of one year old leaf (RHS)

Click on image for larger view

Yew: 'Geers' (left) with reference varieties 'Hicksii' (centre) and 'Sunburst' (right)