Vitex agnus-castus     
Monk's pepper   
Verbenaceae Family     

Monk's pepper tree

Form: large irregular shrub or multistemmed tree, rarely single stemmed tree
Seasonality: deciduous
Size: 10-25ft with equal spread
Leaves: palmately compound; odd number of linear leaflets (usually 5); dark green above, lighter and hairy underneath
Flowers: purple spikes to 7in long, drooping from terminal portions of branches; bloom in early summer; in some varieties flowers are pink or white
Fruit: small seed, smells like pepper
Stems/Trunks: beautiful rough and knotty trunk and branches
Range/Origin: southern Europe
Hardiness: to single digits

LANDSCAPE VALUE:

• of residential scale
• borders (when shrub)
• specimen tree

CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Exposure: full sun, takes heat
• Water: regular, drought tolerant once established; once per week during hottest part of year, once or twice per month otherwise
• Soil: adaptable
• Propagation: seed, easy; also by vegetative cuttings to ensure flower color
• Maintenance: low; needs training when young if tree form is desired; sucker removal

palmately compound leaf of Vitex agnus-castus

early flower

seeds

NOTES:

aka Chaste tree

rapid growth when given supplemental water
may naturalize in warmer climates

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This page was first created August 24, 2001 and last modified February 11, 2006.

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