Question
I am looking for a rather large yew ... approximately 15 feet tall by 8 feet wide.  Any suggestions on where I can locate this size plant and what it would cost.

Thank you
Linda

Answer
Linda-

There are commercial plant locators (kind of like talent scouts), as most contractors don't have all day calling around to literally thousands of commercial and independent growers in the US.  Plus, some of us pesky Landscape Architects specify some odd plants, now & again that are tough to find, or that nobody seems to want to grow.  I have about 20 tree catalogs in my library, and try to call out the ones that are readily available (smaller, 5 ft. Yew's are).

The Yew tree you are looking for is called a Taxus, in Latin. There are MANY common names that are the same, and just saying "palm tree" or "yew" will get you hundreds of types. In your case, there are no less than 14 commercially available types (English, Iris, Oregon, Spreading, Western, Japanese...plus sub-species).

That抯 why we have to use "binomial nomenclature" (Latin); not to sound "snooty", but to make sure when we specify a plant, it抯 the same one we get delivered to the job site...

It is a regional thing, too. Here are just a few a few plant-locating outfits (there are lots more):

(Pacific Northwest)
blackeyedsusanspress.com
hortworld.com
plantfinderwest.com

(Florida/southern US)
findplants.com  
plantfinder.com

I am assuming your in the U.S. Maybe if you do a google search, using the terms "Plant Locator (your state/country)", you may be able to locate a local representative.  These outfits are all around the world!

Down in southwest (California/Nevada/Arizona), there are actually businesses that look over people's yards and offer money for palm trees or rare/large plants that are hard to get...Hey, casinos like big palm trees!

As to price, I cannot even hazard a guess, but generally the bigger, the more expensive.  Plus, the farther away from the grower, of course, the more in transportation cost. And, if you only want ONE, as compared to a whole truck-load...Its simple market supply/demand, and 15 ft x 8 ft is pretty large for an evergreen tree.

If you have a "money is no object" view, then I'm sure you'll find just what you want. I once had a home design where the owner insisted on a particular type of juniper, until they got the bill: $3,000/each - so be flexible in plant choices, and save some money.  They decided to switch out the plant type, in the end, to a less-expensive juniper.

Sorry, I may not have answered your question exactly as you'd hoped!  -Marc