Vitex

One of my favorite flowering trees is blooming right now. I don’ think a landscape can be considered complete until it has at least one Vitex growing in it. Vitex, a 2002 Mississippi Medallion winner, is one those plants that that make people stop and take notice. The flowering period begins around Memorial Day on the Gulf Coast, and soon afterwards in north Mississippi. Vitex makes an outstanding small tree for the landscape. I think it looks best as a multi-stem tree, and unpruned will eventually grow 15 to 20 feet tall and wide. Grown in the shade, Vitex has a nice open habit. The flowers are called panicles, and are composed of many clusters of small individual flowers. I love the color of the beautiful flowering display. Ranging from brilliant blue to blueish lavender the panicles can take on have the appearance of being a hazy and fluorescent cloud in the landscape. The foliage is sweetly aromatic, reminiscent of rose scents, and is arranged on square stems in clusters of finger-like palmate leaves. The foliage is dark gray-green on top and bluish gray underneath, and when mature the leaves have slightly fuzzy bottoms. But the flower color is not limited to bluish purple. There are some really pretty pink selections available, and I really like the white flowered selections. Vitex maybe be the perfect small tree for our hot Mississippi summers. Planted in the full sun, Vitex makes a terrific specimen in any landscape. I’m horticulturist Gary Bachman and I’ll see you next time on Southern Gardening.