I recall a discussion here recently regarding the Chaste Tree...

Quick checks on the web seem to have differing opinion on whether or not
vitex is deer resistant... Anyone have any real world experience to
share?

Also, can vitex be propogated from cuttings?

Thanks..

scott

Scott Harper wrote:
I recall a discussion here recently regarding the Chaste Tree...

Quick checks on the web seem to have differing opinion on whether or not
vitex is deer resistant... Anyone have any real world experience to
share?

Also, can vitex be propogated from cuttings?

Thanks..

scott

It can indeed by propogated from cuttings and I have lots and lots of
seeds!

Dave
www.gardensoftheancients.com

I thought I'd submit the Native Plant Society of Texas Deer Resistant
list for this inquiry:

http://www.npsot.org/plant_lists/deer_resistant.html

Ornamentals Readily Propagated from Cuttings
Abelia Flowering Quince Pittosporum Aucuba
Forsythia Photinia Azalea Gardenia
Pyracantha Barberry Holly Rose
Boxwood Honeysuckle Spirea Butterfly Bush
Hydrangea Tea Olive Camellia Hypericum
Viburnum Cotoneaster Juniper Weigela
Crape Myrtle Ligustrum Willow Elaeagnus
Oleander Vitex Euonymus

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/jackson/news...inter98/3.html
http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/b641-w.html

Propagation of Vitex cuttings:

Propagation
Seed - sow March in a warm greenhouse. The seed does not need
pre-treatment[113]. Germination is usually free and quick[113]. Prick
out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to
handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant
them out into their permanent positions in early summer of the following
year.

Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm with a heel, July/August in a frame.
Good percentage[78].

Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth, November in a
cold frame[113].

J. Kolenovsky
VP, NPSOT - Houston Chapter
A+, N+, MCP till I discovered landscaping


Scott Harper wrote:
=

I recall a discussion here recently regarding the Chaste Tree...
=

Quick checks on the web seem to have differing opinion on whether or no=
t
vitex is deer resistant... Anyone have any real world experience to
share?
=

Also, can vitex be propogated from cuttings?
=

Thanks..
=

scott

-- =

Celestial Habitats by J. Kolenovsky
2003 Honorable Mention Award, Keep Houston Beautiful
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - business. Quoted by the Ho=
uston
Chronicle Lazy Gardener as 1 of 7 best gardening websites in Houston.
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html - personal

Quick checks on the web seem to have differing opinion on whether or not
vitex is deer resistant... Anyone have any real world experience to
share?

Also, can vitex be propogated from cuttings?



The deer never seem to bother my chaste trees, and I have a lot of
deer. Crush the leaves and you'll get a strong, creosote-like smell.
I believe this is what repels them.


And yes, they start easily from cuttings. Take cuttings from the ends
of the branches where new growth is less woody and put into potting
soil. I think I used rooting hormone but don't know if it really
makes a difference. I have 7-8 trees that I've started from cuttings.
Drip irrigation through the hot months really helps when they're
young, but after established, they do fine with just rain. Irrigation
makes them grow a lot faster, though.

Gary

In article , (Gary Brady) wrote:

And yes, they start easily from cuttings. Take cuttings from the ends
of the branches where new growth is less woody and put into potting
soil. I think I used rooting hormone but don't know if it really
makes a difference. I have 7-8 trees that I've started from cuttings.
Drip irrigation through the hot months really helps when they're
young, but after established, they do fine with just rain. Irrigation
makes them grow a lot faster, though.

That sounds pretty good.. Anybody in the Northwest part of town have
any they'd let me take cuttings from?

About the deer... I was wondering if they'd need any special protection
as a very small plant (eg, one started from cuttings) until they got
established. A tomato cage would probably do the trick...


scott

I'm in Spring, just north of Houston, and I have a vitex that I love. Got
it about 3 years ago and it has made a beautiful, flowing shrub probably 15'
tall and that across. I hadn't trimmed it much, but I had to this year
because the rain was dragging the branches to the ground. It has medium
lavender flowers. Now at a nursery nearby there are a bunch of them that
have blue flowers, kind of a silvery steely blue. How many different flower
colors are there?

Also I have another vitex species that I got at Lowe's this spring called
Vitex trifolia v. Purpurea, or Arabian vitex. Have no idea if that name is
right, no one at Lowe's knew, of course, and I couldn't find much on it on
the internet. It's really pretty, has velvety looking 2-3" leaves, medium
green with sort of an olivey tint, with lavender on the undersides and
lavender veins. It looks silvery-purple from a distance. It's flower
spikes are less dense than the chaste tree, with larger flowers in a sky
blue with a touch of lavender. It is the coolest shrub! According to what
I found online, is is an openly branched, somewhat spreading shrub, probably
growing 6-8' tall. From east and southeast Asia and Australia, probably
hardy to 20 degrees. I hope it's more hardy than that.

Cindy

Yes! I just wish I had property! I have a big back yard, but I'm just too
limited on space to have all the plants I want.....

Cindy


escapee wrote:
The blue you are talking about is probably 'Carolina Blue.' I have
that one. It is just beautiful.

V


Thu, 29 Jul 2004 17:30:31 GMT, "Cindy"
opined:

I'm in Spring, just north of Houston, and I have a vitex that I
love. Got it about 3 years ago and it has made a beautiful, flowing
shrub probably 15' tall and that across. I hadn't trimmed it much,
but I had to this year because the rain was dragging the branches to
the ground. It has medium lavender flowers. Now at a nursery
nearby there are a bunch of them that have blue flowers, kind of a
silvery steely blue. How many different flower colors are there?

Also I have another vitex species that I got at Lowe's this spring
called Vitex trifolia v. Purpurea, or Arabian vitex. Have no idea
if that name is right, no one at Lowe's knew, of course, and I
couldn't find much on it on the internet. It's really pretty, has
velvety looking 2-3" leaves, medium green with sort of an olivey
tint, with lavender on the undersides and lavender veins. It looks
silvery-purple from a distance. It's flower spikes are less dense
than the chaste tree, with larger flowers in a sky blue with a touch
of lavender. It is the coolest shrub! According to what I found
online, is is an openly branched, somewhat spreading shrub, probably
growing 6-8' tall. From east and southeast Asia and Australia,
probably hardy to 20 degrees. I hope it's more hardy than that.

Cindy




Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a
friend? http://www.animaux.net/stern/present.html

It has medium
lavender flowers. Now at a nursery nearby there are a bunch of them that
have blue flowers, kind of a silvery steely blue. How many different
flower
colors are there?

I have one with white flowers and all the rest are the blue that you
describe above.

Gary

Gary Brady wrote:
It has medium
lavender flowers. Now at a nursery nearby there are a bunch of them
that have blue flowers, kind of a silvery steely blue. How many
different flower colors are there?

I have one with white flowers and all the rest are the blue that you
describe above.

Gary

Huh. Well, if someone wants seeds from my lilac-flowered one, let me know.
There are LOTS of them.

Cindy

I have a Vitex, about five years old. Deer have never touched it. And, I
have A LOT of deer here in Dripping Springs.

Here is a list of trees they haven't touched:

Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum
Huicache
Mexican Plum
Flame Leaf Sumac
Chitalpa
Robinia "Purple Robe"
Mexican Redbud
Texas Redbud
Yaupon Holly (they LOVE Possumhaw)
Desert Willow
Mesquite
Mexican Sycamore
Jujube
Anacacho Orchid Tree
Texas Kidneywood
Arizone Cypress
Lacey Oak
Vasey Oak*
Chinquapin Oak*
Carolina Buckthorn


~Q

*They eat Live Oaks if they can reach them.

I have a small one still in a 5 gallon container that I bought at Home
Depot 2-3 weeks ago. To test the deer resistance I placed it behind
my house (unplanted, still in container), where a neighbors fence has
restricted a "deer highway" to less than 30 feet wide. All deer in
the neighborhood come through here, and we have a lot. The plant
remains untouched (at least nothing noticeable), and I saw a family of
5-6 deer there yesterday browsing all around it, as I am sure they
have done for the entire week or two that it has been there.

andyd

On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 19:32:08 GMT, c (Scott
Harper) wrote:

I recall a discussion here recently regarding the Chaste Tree...

Quick checks on the web seem to have differing opinion on whether or not
vitex is deer resistant... Anyone have any real world experience to
share?

Also, can vitex be propogated from cuttings?

Thanks..

scott