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. negundo – Chaste tree – This bushy, deciduous shrub or small tree from Eastern Africa and Southern And eastern Asia grow 10-25’ tall and wide.  It produces 3 to 5 palmate, dark green leaves, composed of lance shaped, pointed, sharply toothed to smooth edged leaflets, to 4” long with pale furry undersides.  In late summer and early autumn, bears small tubular, mauve fragrant flowers in terminal panicles, to 10” long.

Zones 6-9