The Chaste Trees came in

[Tsiyu]

at work.

Now I am wishing for more sun so I can have one...

This is one amazing tree....

http://www.stevenfoster.com/education/monograph/vitex.html

http://www.gardenswithwings.com/plant/Chaste%20Tree/index.html

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/3010/3010-1468/3010-1468.html


Anyone here ever grown this plant?

Happy gardening to all, BTW.

[Denninmi]

1. No, I haven't.

Heard of it, but never tried one. Your last link says it can be grown as a dieback perennial and blooms on new wood, similar to a butterfly bush or crape myrtle, both of which I have. I may try one. Good luck with yours.

[Tsiyu]

3. I didn't get one. But I was admiring them. They have a spicy smell, sort of like eucalyptus

but the flowers do resemble the buddlea (which also came in from two growers.) This variety was more blue than violet, and very attractive in a Mediteranean sort of way

I fight for sun in my shady place, and I have been lucky to acquire many free plants because of my work and from friends - yesterday planted some cool prickly pear from another nearby mountain - so I don't think I have a place for it. I'm still too poor to buy one anyway, but I admire all the uses of it and I'm a sucker for blue blooms.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. I have never heard of this plant

but I did notice in the gardenswithwings site said it can be grown in sun to partial shade----so maybe you could try it. I do have a butterfly bush and just love seeing all the butterflies it attracts. If I had any room for another tree/bush, I would like to try one of these.

[Tsiyu]

4. Sounds like good female meds - should the need arise -

in the plant, and that's always cool.

Speaking of butterflies, earlier today I saw a big yellow with black markings fluttering around trying to decide which of the flowers to sip.

Happiness. if it's a Yellow Monarch (it was going too fast to really study it) then there should be quite a few of them soon.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. To attract butterflies,

besides all the nectar plants and host plants, put out a dish where you put a little old fruit---they will come and visit often, and will even sit still for you.

And why am I not surprised that you would be interested in the medicinal qualities of plants.

[Tsiyu]

6. I had a dish with some pineapple core in it the last day or so

but I took it in fer washin.'

Yeah, I don't grow anything illegal but I do have a lot of medicinal wildflowers here and there.

The pipsissewa is blooming all over right now. Like most of the wild plants I have a fondness for, they just sprout where they feel like it.

The hawkweed, yellow violets, ferns, daisies, blackberry and blueberry bushes don't need no stinkin borders. lol

[Curmudgeoness]

7. It happens. I keep the fruit dish far enough away

from the house so I am not disgusted by it....but I have seen it work if there is fruit in the same spot often.

I love "wildflowers" too. Wildflowers to me, weeds to the rest of the world. But edibles and medicinals are always fun to find. And at least we don't have to baby them.

[Tsiyu]

8. That is so true about the not babying part

Once they're in a good spot, they do all the work.

Went to Callaway Gardens butterfly house once and they had all sorts of dishes with mashed bananas in them for the butterflies.

The butterflies were so stunning.

Hope you have a happy day, Curmudgeoness....I'm going out to garden today.

[BlueToTheBone]

14. sounds like a tiger swallowtail butterfly.

They have black markings they may confuse you with the Monarch (who are only orange)

[Tsiyu]

15. It wasn't a swallowtail

Though they do often get called Monarchs by mistake

They have the little protrusion at the end of their lower wing and this one didn't

http://www.daltonstate.edu/galeps/webpages/papilionidae/Pcresphontes.htm

Sometimes I think the overwintering ones are a paler gold color, or maybe it's the opposite. The migrating ones are paler?

Here and in North Georgia they sometimes appear more yellow than orange, esp the female:

http://www.daltonstate.edu/galeps/webpages/nymphalidae/Dplexippus.htm



This one was moving too fast sampling flowers for me to get a good gander, so it could have been another kind.

Still nice to see. The butterfly milkweed (bright orange asclepsia) is blooming like crazy all over the place along the roads and in people's gardens - a nice Volunteer orange - so the butterflies are well positioned this year.

Kudos to the ladies who made the DOT stop spraying the roadsides.

[Denninmi]

9. I just went to the garden center at lunch. Bought one!

They had large one about 3 x 3 feet tall in a 5 gallon pot for $29.99. So I bought it. Another adventure in planting awaits this weekend.

Don't even get me started about everything ELSE I bought -- God, it's easy to drop $400 at the garden center in the blink of an eye.

[Tsiyu]

10. Yes it is indeed

It is a serious addiction....




I am so excited you bought one, so now you must let us know how it does. I think it is a really neat tree with immense potential.

And of course we want to know what else you bought!!!!

[Denninmi]

11. Well, it will just be a dieback perennial here,

except maybe if we have more non-winters like the past one.

Here it is -- it already has flower buds, so I'll get to see it bloom. I took this friday night, it's planted now, along with the other things the cart.

[IMG][/IMG]

Some of the other stuff I bought -- a couple of ornamental grasses, a canna with very narrow leaves, a pomegranate to grow in a pot, some lime green petunias, a couple of herbs, a few perennials, and something I had to have when I saw it, this dogwood, Cornus x 'Venus' -- the bracts are enormous.


[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[Tsiyu]

12. That is a mombo bloom

we lost a lot of dogwoods here recently. I still have a few hanging on.

Tried to save some pinks but no deal.

that one you have is really lovely

[BlueToTheBone]

13. I got one this spring and still have it in its pot.

I'm trying to find its spot in the garden. I always thought that Chaste Tree had white snowball type blooms and was surprised at the the beautiful purple spires.

[Tsiyu]

16. It has a spicy smell too, sort of like butterfly bush

(the variety we have) and this one is more blue than purple but yours sounds lovely as well.

let us know how it does for you.

I love to hear how others are doing with new stuff.

[Rowdyboy]

17. I have a 15 footer on the east side of the house and a 10 footer on the west....

They generally last 5-10 years here and form a small thicket. You can get two flowerings if you prune after the first. Its one of my very favorite old garden pass-along plants.

[Tsiyu]

18. Do you do hardwood cuttings?

I wondered how tall they get.

I bet yours are beautiful.