Blue Diddley^® Chastetree Vitex agnus-castus

Commonly known as the chastetree, Vitex agnus-castus was in ancient times thought to be an aphrodisiac. According to Wikipedia, the leaves and stems were once used in ladies' bedding to "cool the heat of lust" when the men were off to war, thus the name chastetree. We're not sure if this works or not, but we do know that it makes a wonderful landscape plant that is highly deer and drought resistant.

Blue Diddley® Vitex makes the plant even better with its dwarf stature that is about half the size of typical vitex. In the north, zones 5-6, this plant acts like a perennial and dies back to the ground, but regrows and flowers much like a butterfly bush (buddleia). It is slow to break bud in the spring, so do not panic if the plant looks dead, it will sprout new shoots and make a fine specimen in due time. It is a shrub or small tree in the south.

This dwarf chastetree is a fun little ball of lavender-blue flower spikes in mid-summer. Its compact size fits nicely into perennial gardens and mixed borders.