Tree · North Texas care guide
Vitex agnus-castus
Nursery Pro tip: Purple spikes June through August. Cut spent blooms for a second flush.
Spikes of lavender-blue from late May through August, a butterfly magnet, and one of the toughest small trees you can plant in a Texas summer. Called Texas Lilac because it gives the look of a lilac in a climate where lilacs won't grow. 'Shoal Creek' has the biggest, bluest spikes.
Full sun — the more the better — and any drained soil, including hot reflected heat off pavement. 10–15 ft as a multi-trunk tree, or keep it as a large shrub.
Spring through fall. Wide hole, ball at grade, native soil, Root Stimulator, mulch.
Weekly the first summer; then it's nearly drought-proof. Extra water in July only extends the bloom.
Not needed; heavy feeding reduces flowering.
Cut spent flower spikes as they fade and it reblooms in two to three weeks — the single best thing you can do for it. Shape in late winter; it takes hard pruning, even to the ground, if it gets rangy.
Nothing serious. Can reseed a little. Leafs out late in spring.
Backdrop for lantana, autumn sage, coneflower and Gulf muhly; a great pollinator-garden anchor. Works as a screening hedge along a fence.
Written for Rockwall's black clay, heat and winters by the Landscape Source team. Every yard is different — bring a photo by, or ask LS-Ai, and we'll tailor it to your spot.