Do any of you have experience with Vitex, which is sold with the label as Texas Lilac? aka Chaste Tree....
I have two of these, supposed to be heat and drought tolerant but I've had to relocate them to a partial shade location as they seem to pout when its really hot.
I have not decided yet where to plant these and may wait until fall. Please tell me your experience with this tree/shrub so that I can decide where to plant it.
Thanks in advance, Laura
Texas Lilac, aka Chaste Tree, or Vitex
Howdy Laura.... :)
I can honestly say that I LOVE my Vitex trees. I have a large purple one...and a smaller white one. Mine are planted in full sun and seem to be quite happy where they are... They are also planted along highways here in San Antonio and all around new stores opening up in the city along with Desert Willows.
The only time that I ever noticed my large one begin to droop a bit is when the drought from last year was really at its worse. It just got a bit more resiliant and dropped some leaves.
How large are the two that you have?
Melanie :)
They may do that because they are still in pots. I bought mine last year and kept it in a pot in part shade until fall becasue I was afraid to plant it in full sun due to the hot dry weather we had. It wasn't really happy in the pot. Since I planted it, it has done much better. Of course this year we have had too much rain, so it has not been hot and dry except for a little while before all of this started. During that time it was doing great though so I still say go for it. As long as it is in the ground I am sure it will be happy in full sun.
Thanks Turquoize and Yardqueen!
Mine are still in 1 gallon pots. I'm waiting til fall to plant them because I'm trying to have some landscaping done before then.
Would love to see pictures!
Laura
I have three of them, all in full sun. One was here when we bought, so I don't know how old it is. It's about 20 feet tall and close to that in canopy diameter. Other two are recently planted. One is shrub form and other is trained to small tree form. All are doing great in full sun. I think once you get them in the ground, you won't have a problem as long as it's a well draining site.
Laura, you said yours are in 1g pots but you didn't say how tall. Maybe if you potted them up in a 3-5g pot, they could be growing more roots for their final placement this fall.
Also, another tip on vitex. They normally bloom once a yr, but if you will cut the spent blooms b4 they grow their seeds, chances are very good that they will bloom again.
I work on a 25 acre, tree farm/nursery. We sell MANY Montrose Vitex. The Montrose is said to have longer bloom stalks. They line our driveway @ the Farm (Treesearch Farms Inc, ck website)& soon as the blooms loose their color, my guys cut each bloom off. They did this last month & they are already forming new buds. Some yrs, we can get as many as three bloom cycles out of them.
Just a little tip for future reference.
:~)
I looked again and they are in 2 gallon pots, with a height of about 24" right now. They were about 30" before I snipped off the spent blooms. I'm hoping for a repeat performance of those blooms.
With all the rain and cooler temps we've been having because of the rain, do you think it would hurt to plant them now? I'm wondering if I should just go ahead....the site where I'm putting them won't be in the way of the future landscaping job....and I just got back from planting four crape myrtles so my engine is warmed up!
I'm not an expert but.......
I think Mother has so many plant 'minds' messed up right now that they may not know the difference.
I would say the sooner they get in the ground the better. And this is not like our normal July temps to stress them out.
Your decision.....but good luck on whichever way you decide to go.
You know there is also pink vitex, right?
I just noticed your town! I know where Gilmer is. We had a plant swap @ Catlady's house & she lives in Gilmer. Very kewl lady!!!
Smockette, there's a PINK vitex? I'm the nut whose been trying to get a pink porterweed too. Now, I have to add a pink vitext to the wish list! You're absolutely correct about the blooms. You always have such good info. I have two of mine short enough that I can clip the spent blooms and they have bloomed nonstop. I love the smell of these too.
Smockette and Laura,
I know where Gilmer is because when I was in school in Atlanta TX, we had to play football with other towns. We only had one school and traveled on a bus to about everyother game, or they would come to Atlanta. Everyone in school was on the team, played band or on the pep squad! LOL!!
As for the Vitex, I got two about that size in the fall last year and planted them right away. They are in full sun, not very big but they did bloom. The DH put some shrub food on one that wasn't growing and it took off and caught up with the other right away.
Vitrex is still on my wish list. I haven't gotten one yet. The pink one sounds devine.... But then I am partial to all shades of pink, burgandy and such.
Coming to the CSRU this fall? hehehe
I'm going to try to make the dallas one. don't know yet about cs
Don't know if Smock is going to plan to come to Dallas swap but if he doesn't & he has some maybe I could talk him out of one & bring it to Dallas! I'm planning on going.
Let's see Conroe in September, Dallas in October, & CSRU in Nov or end of Oct.
See what I meant about the calendars? lol
:~)
yep.... mine is just as weird and busy.... plus somewhere in there I have to have total knee replacement surgery b4 eoy
I love my vitex!
Crowelli - I'll start a cutting of the pink porterweed for ya!
I live in Richardson, Tx. My Vitex is planted in a far corner that gets a load of morning and a bit of noon day sun, but shade for the rest of the day. The ground in that area can be a tad on the wet side, so I was worried that it might be too damp, but it is positively thriving. I don't know if I got lucky or if it's the nature of the plant to be such a happy camper there. I am training it to be a tree because it seemed a lot more interested in being a floppy bush. The first blooms were outstanding and I am seeing the new buds for a second go 'round!
I would get it in to the ground A.S.A.P.!
Laura, do you know the Bishop family in Gilmer?
sunshine,
I know OF some Bishops, there are three attorneys here by that name.
Laura ~
Some of my husband's family (no attorneys) live there and we have been to visit. It's a very pretty area!
I do love my Vitex and hope you find the perfect place for yours.
Cristi
Christi, where did you get your pink porterweed?
renatelynn,
Sorry to hear you have to have the knee replacement. I pray you have a easy recovery when you have surgery.
Wow Nada....I didn't know that you were wanting a vitex. I've now got little 'uns growing from all of the seeds that I deadhead from the spent blooms. Well, they're real tiny...but shoot...I could save some seeds for ya.
This is a photo of my big purple Vitex. It has only been in the ground for about 2 years now. And since this pic was taken...it has gotten alot bigger from all of the rain. But I've pruned it to be a shapely tree....tho the smaller white one is more bush like. :)
Melanie
my list of stuff I want/need is too large for any one person to filll... INCLUDING me! *giggle I have have Loads of places where there is only mulch and/or dirt. I have more shady spaces than sunny which is funny to me since I was thinking the opposite. But then again .... a garden is something that progresses and never ends...
Yes I hyper extended my knee a few years ago in a fall. It has just gotten worse and worse until I am in pain most of the day, most days. I would have it done right this min but have to figure out the best time.... of which now isn't the best.
Hey Smockette!
Got it from Enchanted Forest. It's really pink and it sure it pretty!
Are you for sure coming to the Houston swap? If so, I'll start one for you. At first, I thought the porterweeds did horrible with cuttings. Soon realized that you just have to live with the delicate stage they go through and then they proliferate in a way that you don't want them to! Plant them immediately!!!!! After a few weeks, snip off almost all of the growth, so they can get big and healthy.
Crowelli's name is on one and I'll be happy to start one for you as well.
Kristi
Yikes!!!! I went out to collect some fennel and parsley for my caterpillars inside and found a shock! My little two foot tall Vitex had two huge tomato horn worms eating away. They were so large the limbs were drooping over. Thank goodness I saw them or the tree would have been stripped before I got home today. I moved them to a Datura so they can eat and morph there. Didn't realize they ate Vitex!!! I have my tomato plants just feet away too. ??
Hi all,
We have Vitex trees all up and down I35 and they are beautiful as well as useful you know.
The Chaste Berry tree provide berries that are used in the Vitex product you see at the health food store. I used it to help balance my hormones before my legal menopause.
I planted one at my last house in full sun and it did very well. I did plant it in my amended double dug garden though.(-: I do not remember ever reading that you had to snip the flowers. I think it flowers naturally and I do not think the Vitex would ever be happy in a pot.
HTH
Karen in Austin, Texas