There are quite a few hybrids and crosses of Taxus. They may or may not have berries due to many factors; the previous growing season's anomolies, too much water (a frequent problem), poor soil (drainage, alkalinity), etc. The plant presented is a poor quality plant. I suspect that it actually may be a 'Capitata' yew, a Taxus cuspidata 'Capitata.' Can't be sure 100%. If so, there is some serious problem with the plant. Black vine weevil is a problem in my area - attacks internal foliage and the roots. I would suggest going to the local nursery for advice... Hortster

O.K. Let's start with the Juniperus chinensis 'Blue Point'. . .most junipers PREFER full sun, but that usually only means that they will look their very best in full sun, not that they will collapse and die. In my own garden (and many others) I have successfully grown junipers (one of my favorite conifers) in LESS than full sun - I have a 16-year old J. 'Old Gold' that started out in full sun, but as the tree near it matured, the area became mostly dappled shade, with just one hour of direct morning sun. . .it's still going strong, but it's not as dense as before, and you definitely lose the golden new growth in the Spring. I'm currently growing J. 'Sargentii' in partial shade; it's simply not developing as quickly as another in the full sun. A J. communis started in 3/4 sun, finally had to come down when that reversed to 3/4 shade. . .but not before it had grown 20' tall ! ( I limbed the tree a few weeks before Christmas, so our holiday Bazaar had HUGE arrangements of juniper boughs, weighted down with masses of their blue berries - the hall actually reeked, beautifully!) The remaining trunk was cut into three sections, the bottom third left rooted in the ground, while the other two were lashed to the original to form a "natural" tripod. . .which is currently buried in clematis, C. 'Jackmani' and 'Guernsey Cream'. . . But I digress. . . The Juniperus 'Blue Point' in my side yard is growing in 3/4 sun, and doing well. . .how well it will do in your specific situation, I simply couldn't promise. Since the location is very "in your face" - you pass them every time you enter or exit the house - perhaps you should lean toward a more site-specific plant. Sorry. . .can't lie to you. . . :-) That brings us to another point that someone made about the "matching pair" of shrubs not growing identically (horrors!). . .so I have to share this story of how a very "anal" garden friend solved this exact problem. She had decided on a "matching pair" of shrubs on either side of the front steps leading up to her porch, but being obsessive, she INSTANTLY realized that they would be getting unequal amounts of sun (due to the sun's angle and the porch corner casting a partial shadow). Her solution? The two shrubs each went into large, individulal pots - I seem to remember they were some kind of hollies - and once a week, the pots were given a half turn in place, and then once a MONTH, the pots changed position. It didn't hurt that the pots were fiberglass, which cut down on the muscle required, but trust me, I would NEVER go that far for perfection !!! Gotta tell you, though - they did develop into a perfectly matched pair. . . Which makes me think: just as someone else suggested statuary, how about a pair of those tall, elegant pots (easily 3'-4'), each planted with a tall, stunning (4'-5') canna or other narrow perennial or annual, and mounding/cascading plants at the base of the central plant which would easily give you your 3' width and a teardrop look. Martha Stewart would love it. . . Answer to question: yes, yews ARE male and female. . .if you have one of the common Taxus cuspidatas (the kind available at Lowes and HD), all you need to do is locate a Taxus cuspidata 'Aurescens' (see the link below) and plant it nearby in the sun.. T. 'Aurescens' is a quite lovely, golden-needled evergreen which stays low to the ground. . .he's a real stud muffin, and the Taxus ladies in my garden have been popping out berries ever since I brought him home. . .CAUTION: IF THERE ARE LITTLE ONES AROUND, KNOW THAT THOSE BERRIES ARE VERY TOXIC !!! Finally, my personal experiences with Thuja 'Green Giant': terrific plant (developed with yours and my tax dollars by our National Arboretum), IN THE RIGHT LOCATION ! Because the sellers know they have a good product, they'll tell you anything to get you to buy it, like it grows only 8'-12'. . . that is total B.S. !!! Example: I planted a row of five of them along a friend's back fence just three years ago - while only 4' tall when we put them in, they are now OVER 12' tall !!! Following recommendations from many sources, I planted them 7' apart. . .sometime this growing season, they will finally meet and completely obliterate my friend's 6' fence. . .that's a pretty cool delivery on a promise of a fast screen! But even the National Arboretum will tell you that they will be at least 30' tall in 30 years, and will continue to grow over a lifetime into 60'-80' GIANTS. . .hence, their name. . . They are one of those rare shrubs/tress whose growth rate is so spectacular that you can easily afford to buy small (my 3'-4' specimens in 3 gallon pots were just $15. apiece!) - some other fast-growers I've had great success with are Leyland cypress and Betula nigra. Wow! I think this long-winded response adds up to four cents, at least. . . Carl Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Botanical Garden Plantfinder

I generally dislike Yews...largely because they were misused years ago so you see many horrible examples. However, I agree with sc77. The great uses for Yews are: 1.) They are more shade tolerant then most popular conifers. 2.) The fact they are one of the few conifers that regenerates from old wood means they take better to pruning then almost all other conifers. This means they are one of the few evergreen shrubs that grows well in colder climates or New England that can be pruned into formal "boxy" hedges or topiary. Taken together, these two facts mean you can often squeeze one in where few other confers would work...if you want some green in the winter or an evergreen privacy screen. I prefer holly for this use. Not overly concerned with the fact they are poisonous. I grew up in a house with a yew hedge and neither me, my siblings, or are pets were ever tempted to try to eat it. The problem...and the reason they get a bad rap...is they lend themselves to a formal look that is a LOT of work to maintain. Lots of people some years back put in formal yew hedges emulating a look popularized by British landed gentry with professional groundskeepers. Then after a few years they...or a subsequent owner...lost interest or didn't have the time to maintain the hedges. Thus you have lots of yew hedges that are in an ugly phase halfway between formal and natural, often with garbage inside them. Not a good look. And there are the ones that were squeezed in on the (optimistic) assumption they would be regularly pruned to keep them small. In cold climates or places with a lot of deer they get devoured by deer that run out of other food sources in the winter. Their ability to regenerate probably does mean they are better able to recover from occasional exploratory nibbling by curious-but-well-fed deer then most conifers would be.

" in spite of showing the most common, everyday symptom of lack of nitrogen: general yellowing. " And this may be where some of the confusion is coming in. A nitrogen deficiency is NOT characterized by a "general yellowing".....at least in an established or older plant (may show as a generalized off color in seedlings). It is the oldest (lower or inner) growth that first shows symptoms of yellowed foliage, never the new growth. That's where the plant pushes all of its nutrient reserves. If this were the issue with the plant in question - lack of adequate N - then we would see internal discoloration, not the external coloring the photos illustrate. And the new growth would not be as lush or profuse or as dense as is shown. And that is simply the way that specific nutrient deficiency works....it is not really up for debate! Yard, I am really having trouble understanding why you are not willing to accept this, including the input from two quite experienced horticulturists/plantspersons (floral and Embothrium), leaving my comments aside. It's not like yews of all types are rare commodities in either the PNW or the UK and both individuals confirm that very chartreuse, acid yellow/lime green is not an uncommon coloring for any new growth yet you seem to dismiss that as inconsequential or limited to only selected cultivars. I wish I had taken photos of the new stock at my local nursery when I was there last week, as ALL the yews were showing similarly colored new growth. It only lasts a matter of a couple of weeks before it takes on the more typical darker green color. And there is also the very real consideration that color perception is largely subjective - what seems anemic or bleached out to you looks perfectly normal to others - and that photos seldom portray color with total accuracy. I have to say that I do not see any "yellow" in the OP's photo.....just a very vibrant lime green. And the shrub appears to be extremely healthy with dense new growth and no obvious need for any fertilization at this time.