Does anyone grow vitex????

A friend gave me a giant piece of " some purple something" out of her yard. Wasn't sure it would make it but it is now perking up and we have identified it as vitex aka chaste tree, monk's pepper, Texas lilac.

Was wondering if anyone here has one or knows about care, quirks, etc. in Carolina?

i have one and mine is on a hill,grows like crazy but you have to trim it back to keep it looking good,i forgot to trim mine back this year and it looks like crap but it bloomed pretty just didnt have any leaves at the bottom.in full all day sun too. i hope this helps and good luck
moretz

Thanks moretz- when do you cut it back? I have the same issue with butterfly bush.

in the spring before new growth starts on both of them,
glad i could help

There are two schools of thought on this; some cut it back and some let it grow (if you have the room) and it will develop into a large, full vase shaped tree.
I found that when I cut mine back it developed those odd, dog legged branches and I really do not like the shape.
I have a pink one now and will let that one grow as intended.

Interesting, ardesia. I love my chaste tree -- it's on its second flush of flowers right now. I'm planning on keeping mine limbed up in order to underplant it. I've also read that if you keep it at no taller than 10' tall, it's easier to keep it deadheaded for repeat bloom. Mine is still a very young plant, but it's about 6' tall right now.

We moved our tree early this past Spring to a site with more direct sun. The only glitch so far is that because of the way the tree is growing, we staked some of the branches that had become a bit top-heavy. Hopefully, that won't continue to be necessary, though.

I read somewhere that the reason chaste tree is sometimes called monk's pepper is that medieval monks believed the seeds would curb certain yearnings.