Lilac chaste tree

  • Common Name: Lilac chaste tree, Chaste Tree, Monk’s Pepper, Texas Lilac
  • Botanical Name: Vitex agnus‑castus
  • Family Name: Mint family
  • Type: perennial
  • Zone Hardiness:  7–8
  • Height: 10–15ft
  • Width: 10–20ft
  • Blooms: Showy, fragrant flower spikes, lavender‑blue.
  • Bloom Time: Late spring to mid‑summer
  • Sun: Full sun preferred; tolerates light shade
  • Leaves: Deciduous, palmately compound leaves with 5–7 lanceolate leaflets, aromatic, gray-green
  • Maintenance: moderate for the casual gardener; prune in early spring for structure or size control
  • Tolerates: Drought, Alkaline and acid soils, well-drained, Moderate salt air exposure, deer
  • Attracts: Bees, butterflies, other pollinators, deer
  • Texas Superstar: Yes
  • Texas Native: No
  • Invasive: Yes, in areas with limestone or dry creek beds