Chaste trees (Vitex shrubs Vitex agnus castus) are extremely popular in our area and for good reason - they are consistently great performers. So, it's surprising that Vitex shrubs are so infrequently seen, a missed opportunity to be sure.
Vitex trifolia and Vitex rotundifolia are both good shrubs, but flowers are insignificant and growth habit can be a little unruly, taking some effort to control. But crosses of these species with Vitex agnus castus have yielded exciting hybrids without these problems. Vitex ‘Flipside' (agnus castus x trifolia), Fine Gardening Magazine's shrub of the year in 2019, is a 6- to 10-foot shrub with much larger flowers, extremely long bloom time, neater habit and an interesting purple tint on the underside of its leaves.
Vitex ‘Summertime Blues' (agnus castus x rotundifolia) has the interesting rounded foliage of rotundifolia but much more prominent flowers and a dense compact growth habit reaching 6- to 8-feet tall. ‘Delta Blue' and 'Montrose Purple' are among others in the 8- to 10-foot range, but all can be kept smaller with a late winter pruning.
Other new dwarf varieties including ‘Blue Diddley,' ‘Pink Pannicle,' and ‘Blue Puffball' stay under 4- to 6-feet. All do well in full sun with average well drained soil and are drought tolerant once well established. Very few pest or disease problems. Smaller dwarfs do very well in containers. Vitex shrubs can occasionally be found at local garden centers but are more readily available by mail order.
