Chaste tree| Vitex agnus-castus

🌿 Ships well rooted in a 3.5 x 9 inch deep tree pot.

Few summer-blooming trees can match chaste tree for sheer pollinator impact. From July through September — the gap when most flowering trees have finished and fall hasn't started yet — vitex throws up long, fragrant spikes of lavender-blue flowers that bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds work relentlessly. The flowers have that soft, airy quality that photographs beautifully and stops people in their tracks. The palmate, gray-green leaves are aromatic when crushed, the whole tree has a fine-textured, almost Mediterranean elegance, and it's virtually indestructible once established — drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant, deer-resistant, and fast-growing. Prune it hard in late winter to keep it compact and maximize bloom; left unpruned it becomes a multi-stemmed large shrub or small tree reaching 10–15 feet.

🌿 Latin Name: Vitex agnus-castus
🌞 Light: Full sun; minimum 6 hours direct sun for best bloom
🌱 Soil: Well-drained, lean to average; tolerates poor, dry, and rocky ground; no wet feet
💧 Water: Drought-tolerant once established; low water needs
📏 Mature Size: 10–15 ft tall and wide; can be kept smaller with hard annual pruning
🌸 Bloom Time: July through September; one of the longest-blooming summer trees
🗺️ Hardiness Zone: 6–9 (root hardy to Zone 5)
🦋 Wildlife Value: Exceptional pollinator tree — bees, butterflies, hummingbirds; deer resistant; birds eat the berries
🌿 Herbal Tradition: Berries historically used in European herbalism for centuries under the name "monk's pepper"; for personal wellness use consult a qualified herbalist
✂️ Pruning: Cut back hard in late winter — flowers on new wood; hard pruning maximizes bloom and controls size