Vitex agnus-castus 'Shoal Creek'

This much improved cultivar produces its dense terminal clusters of fragrant, airy, deep-lilac flowers from June all the way through September. Quickly reaches 10-12' tall, forming a graceful multi-stemmed shrub/tree. Its grey-green foliage is a pretty back drop for the blossoms and it is very fragrant when crushed. These specimens can handle heat, pollution and coastal conditions; very tough and very beautiful! S/M-D

A superb selection with full, deep blue flower spikes forming an attractive medium shrub in the North, but can become tree-like in the South. Bold, 12"-18" fragrant, clear-blue flower spikes in mid to late summer. Buds break late in spring but cut back hard to encourage bushiness and to remove winter dieback. in milder climates plants can get quite large (7-12'), but in zones 6 and 7 expect a height and width of about 6-7' if it doesn't get winter dieback. Shipping bulky qt pots.

With cannabis-style palmate foliage and a virtuous history of helping both European monks and Demeter devoted Greek women remain chaste, this woody Verbena relative is anything but modest. Late in the spring, young downy wood and numerous branching stems forge a broad swath clothed in 5-fingered, lancelike leaflets brightened by silver felted undersides. Beat-the-heat colors distinguish the refreshing summer display as upright and spiky, nearly foot long panicles of dense, lilac-blue tubular flowers extend out from a stout rounded shrub or small tree. The aromatic, easy-to-grow Chaste Tree is a deciduous, sun-loving Mediterranean native whose stature depends on how severe the winters are or how far back its been trimmed. Enticing to hummingbirds and gardeners alike, it appreciates well drained soil and a hard cut in early spring, endures some drought once established and bestows a restful grace note to the mixed border.

Large blue violet flowers on 12-18" inflorescences throughout the summer on a new Chaste Tree to the trade that has leaf spot resistance. Plant in a sheltered spot in Zone 5-6. (The plant will probably die to the ground but resurrect itself in spring.) It flowers on new growth, so the dieback won't effect bloom. Shoal Creek is typically grown in warm winter climates as a vase-shaped, deciduous shrub or small trunk tree reaching 10-15'. *In zones 5-6, it will reach 4-7' in a season which explains the wide divergence in heights shown below.

One of the last plants to leaf out in spring but worth the wait. Spikes of blue flowers carried in early fall.