Description

Vitex –

This widespread genus, within the Lamiaceae family, consists of 250 species.  They are evergreen or deciduous trees and shrubs, occurring in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate zones, often in woodland or dry riverbeds.  They have smooth or toothed edged, opposite, fully divided, 3 to 7 palmate leaves, which may be smooth, glossy, downy or felted.  They produce terminal panicles, racemes or cymes of tubular, 2 lipped flowers in shades of white, yellow, red, blue or purple.  V. agnus-castus and V. negundo are cultivated for their foliage and summer flowers, and may be grown in a shrub border or against a wall.

Grow in any well-drained soil in full sun in a sheltered site.

Prone to leaf spot, root rot, and scale insects.

V. rotundifolia – V. trifolia var. rotundifolia – Beach Vitex– This prostrate shrub from Asia and Australia grows 3-5’ feet tall and 6-8’ feet wide.  It produces broadly oblong or egg-spoon shaped, softly hairy, mid green leaves, to 1 ¾” long.  In late summer and early autumn, tubular, fragrant blue to purple flowers are produced in usually terminal panicles, to 8” long.

Zones 6-9