Tree With Spicy Fragrance And Sweet Flowers Too

Few gardeners are going to know this plant. Actually it is a large shrub to small tree that grows well throughout all but the most southern portion of Florida. The plants we call vitex or the most common species, a chaste tree, are only occasionally offered at garden centers and grown by few nurseries.

Chaste trees are multi-trunked large shrubs to small trees much like crape myrtles. They are hardy from Maryland south but are susceptible to winter damage in the coldest locations. This damage is normally pruned out and the plantings continue to grow and flower in late spring. What is more commonly known as vitex is a variegated form that grows best from Central Florida Southward. The leaves are three parted and marbled with a cream to green color.

Chaste tree flowers are of some the hard to find blues to purplish colors produced on the end of limbs in clusters from late spring through summer. The variegated vitex plantings have mainly blue clusters of blooms.

Plantings of both trees can be used as accents to attract attention to focal points in the landscape. The Chaste trees grow large enough, to 20 feet, to cast some shade. The variegated vitex grows to about 12 feet and is sometimes used as a hedge in South Florida.

Both shrubs to small trees are worth searching for but most gardeners will be happy with the more treelike chaste tree. The leaves are dark green with multiple leaf-like pointed segments. When rubbed or crushed they offer a spicy fragrance.

Look for both the chaste tree and variegated vitex at independent garden centers. The search for this landscape addition will be worth it.