Chaste Tree

Chaste plant

Chaste Tree

Brief Description

The Chaste Tree is a moderately fast-growing, multi-trunked tree that grows up to 20 tall & wide and has beautiful flowers. One unique characteristic of it is that it can be pruned to be a shrub, so if you have a location where a shrub would fit instead of a tree, then you can make that happen. The beautiful flowers come in different colors depending on the tree’s variety.

Origin

The Chaste Tree comes from Southern Europe and Central Asia.

Description

Common Name – Chaste Tree

Botanical Name – Vitex Agnus-Castus

Plant Type – Shrub or Tree

Mature Size – 3-20 ft. tall 4-20 ft. wide

Sun Exposure – full exposure

Bloom Time – Summer & Fall

Flower Color – All of the above

Hardiness Zone – Zones 6-9 (USDA)

Planting

The Chaste Tree can be planted in many locations, so long as they’ll have space to grow up to 20 feet wide. Keep in mind that they need full sun, so that’ll also dictate where they’re planted. As for watering, while it’s establishing its roots, keep it well watered.

Care

The Chaste Tree is easy to care for. You can trim it into the shape of a tree or leave it more shrub-like. It’s recommended to prune the first round of flowers when they lose their color to encourage a second round of blooms. Once the Chaste is established, it’s quite drought-tolerant. Remember to always move the irrigation emitters away from the trunk as the tree gets larger. Because it thrives in Zones 6-9, it tolerates heat and cold very well. Once established, yearly pruning for thinning purposes and dead and/or ‘wild hairs’ is recommended.

Varieties

The Chaste Tree comes in numerous varieties. The Blue Puffball selection, as you’d expect, has beautiful blue flowers. It’s also one of the smallest varieties, as it only grows up to 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide. The Shoal Creek will get between 10-15 feet tall and 4-12 feet wide. This variety has blue-violet flowers, which are large in size.

Invasive

There’s a tendency for the Chaste to be invasive because its seeds quickly take root. Therefore, in your landscape, be on the lookout for baby Chaste Trees and quickly pull them out if you find them.

For other shrubs that are perfectly suited for Greater Prescott, read about the Nandina here.

Lastly, we highly recommend Watter’s Garden Center, Mortimer Nursery, or Prescott Valley Nursery as great places to both purchase shrubs & trees but to also ask questions because these are the experts.