right up underneath, nothing much will grow - 2 to 3 feet away you should get grass to grow.

We have grass under our yew and snowdrops and primroses but the trunk has been cut back to look like a green pillar for 7', that means there is quite a lot of light under the tree.

We've got a creeping (galumphing) Salix and a Cotoneaster congestus both of which grow right up to the male yew tree. The female is in a bed with gravel and nothing grows near her.

Ours is a female tree. I like the new avatar MG.

Thx. Scotsgran