Vitex agnus-castus, commonly called Chaste Tree, gets its name from the mythic legends of its anaphrodisiac properties. Athenian women used the leaves in their beds to keep themselves chaste during the feasts of Ceres. In Rome, virgins carried twigs as a sign of chastity. The tree was sacred to Hestia, the virginal Greek goddess of hearth.The spicy fruit and seeds of the tree has been used extensively in herbal medicine to aide the symptoms of female hormonal imbalances as well as other ailments ranging from migraines to premenstrual syndrome.
This Mediterranean plant (a native of southern Europe and western Asia) thrives on heat and rapidly becomes a 20 ft. tree or shrub (with a broad spread) in southern climates. In cooler regions, an 8-10 ft. size is more common. It is cold hardy to zone 7 and may completely die back in winter. Growth will quickly recover the following year. If die-back is minimal, gardeners often cut the plant back to within 1-2 feet in early spring. The plant can be grown as a small tree by pruning the plant to 1-3 main branches and selectively removing side branches.
The leaves are dense and gray-green in color. They are aromatic and divided into 5-7 narrow leaflets measuring 2-6 inches in length. There is no fall color.
The showy flower clusters begin to appear in late summer (August here in Vancouver, Washington). Visitors to the garden often think it is a buddleia. Several cultivars are available in blue, pink or white. My favorite are the blue-colored blooms which seem to glow from a distance. The branched panicle-type blooms are upright and measure about 12-18 inches long. Bumblebees absolutely love the blooms and swarm the plants when it is in bloom.
Chaste Tree thrives in full sun and moist, well-drained soil. It can tolerant drought. For best results, however, provide regular watering and at least one fertilizing early in the season to ensure a good show of blooms. Deadheading the spent blooms will encourage more blooms although it can be a tedious task due to the sheer number of blooms.
This is a good plant for a shrub border or used as a specimen. It would make an attractive patio tree.
Thanks for this informative post. I never heard of this tree/shrub. I may have encountered it and indeed thought it was buddleia...
ReplyDeleteIt looks fantastic behind your fence, the leaf and bloom colors are so good together. It may be and anaphrodisiac but not as far as bees are concerned :-D
How much die-back occurs in your garden?
Chavli
No, I have not experienced any die-back. I do cut it back some in early spring/late winter.
DeleteI'm still waiting for the Vitex agnus-castus in my dry north-side garden to do something. It's literally been in the ground for a month shy of 7 years and has never gotten taller than a foot high, much less produced bloomed. It's obviously not happy and I should probably try moving it before putting it out of its misery. I can only conclude that the conditions in that area are too dry. In contrast, a Vitrex trifolia in my south-side, equally dry, garden is almost too vigorous!
ReplyDeleteMaybe it needs more water to get established? That happened with my Embothrium. I never watered it because of what I had read and then someone told me to start watering it a little during the summer. I did and it started to grow.
ReplyDeleteThere were a grouping of them at the Huntington BG down at the lowest point of the property, grown with a mass planting of Agapanthus. Quite lovely in a less visited area of the BG. I think they cut them back pretty hard every year. Thought about growing one myself but never found one for sale. There was a shrubby version of a Vitex with foliage that had a purple-y reverse being sold for a while--never found it appealing and it faded away from the nurseries around here.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like 'Flip Side', the one that is currently for sale at the nursery. I think it is a Proven Winners plant. I love it but don't have room for another.
DeleteThe blue blooms are stunning!
ReplyDelete