Restoring yews in pots

[FRANSINA]

Hi! We have been given two yews in deep pots. They are quite sickly looking and have no growth lower down. I’d like to incorporate them into a hedge. How do I restore these poor plants back health? Should I prune down quite low and feed? Is pruning a bad idea? Thanks for any advice!

Good grief. What size are the pots they are in - are they too small? Can't tell from the pics, too shady.

They are pretty sickly, so cut away all the definitely stone dead bits. I would suggest if you possibly can, repot into something slightly larger, give them some seaweed tonic (you can use it as a foliar feed as well as watering the soil with it), and then stand them in a shady part of the garden for a few weeks to see what happens. Keep them moist but not waterlogged. Don't feed with anything else yet.

Thanks Yamadori - I’ll give your advice a go. The pots are small. Thanks so much!