NewbieTexas Lilac Vitex

Two questions: 1. I soon will receive Texas Lilac Vitex seeds. Any special planting instructions? 2. Numerous internet sites suggest "cutting to the ground" as winter approaches. I'm uncertain how established my lilac may be as winter approaches. Does the conventional recommendation of "cutting to the ground" apply to newly established lilacs? Thanks.

For starters, you're getting the seeds of a Vitex, not a lilac. 'Texas Lilac' is the cultivar name of a Vitex (aka Chastetree). http://www.plantanswers.com/vitex.htm So, as you're looking for planting and care instructions for your area, make sure to search accordingly. I don't much about growing Vitex in your zone but here, we never cut them back in fall because it will reduce their winter hardiness. I would recommend leaving the entire plant intact through winter and then in spring wait for it to leaf out and cut off the parts that don't. Essentially, you treat it the same way you would a crapemyrtle.

Here in zone 8B, we don't cut Vitex back unless there is a dead branch. It is a shrub, not a tree, although with diligence it can be pruned into a multi-trunk tree form.
It will self-seed, so I would recommend planting about half your seeds in containers and treating them as you would any other seed, and planting the other half directly into the soil in early fall.
The term "Chastetree" has a whole 'nother story to it!

I never cut mine back either--and have never heard that you were supposed to. I'm not sure how they respond to severe pruning but it's definitely not necessary.

Vitex may be cut to the ground every year if you want a smaller shrub. They are tough and it won't hurt them. Some people cut them back by 50% or so mid-season to encourage them to bloom more, although here they cycle in and out of bloom all season.

If you grow them from seed, I'm not sure you'll get the cultivar you have. The newer cultivars have larger blooms and prettier colors. They are vegetatively propagated.

I've never heard of that being done. Other than dead-heading, I never cut mine back. It seems unlikely that a 15 to 20 foot Vitex, if cut to the ground, would grow back from the roots to the same height that next year and bloom as well as before.

You would only cut it back if you wanted to keep it smaller--it's not going to grow back to 15 ft in a year but some people might not want it that big. They bloom on new wood so cutting it back shouldn't interfere with blooming.

Of course a vitex won't regrow to 20 feet in height in one growing season if cut to the ground in early spring. It will be shrublike; dense; but not nearly that tall. It's a fairly common practice in Central Texas.
There are people here who do the same thing with crape myrtles. Cut them to the ground each year. They grow to 5 or 6 feet the next growing season and bloom like crazy. (That's not to be confused with "topping," which is referred to as "crape murder.")

Thanks for the helpful comments & insights.