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. agnus-castus ‘Silver Spire’ – Chaste Tree – Monk’s Pepper– This vigorous open, spreading, deciduous shrub or small tree found in the Mediterranean to Western Asia, grows 6-25’ feet tall and wide.  It produces 5 or 7 palmate leaves composed of narrowly pointed pointed, smooth to slightly toothed edged, aromatic, dark green leaflets, with gray felted undersides, grow to 4-8” long.  Small tubular, slightly fragrant, white flowers are produced in slender upright, terminal panicles, to 5-7” long in early and mid autumn, followed by small purple drupes.

Zones 6-9