Vitex a mid to late summer nectur source

[brooksbeefarm]

One of my best summer nectur source is vitex.I don!t know how much nectur they get off of it, but you can find bees on it from morning till night.It!s a bush with leaves they tell me that look like marijuana?It!s flower looks like the bloom on lavender.Any one know the nectur output of this plant?I don!t remember seeing a bee working it with a pollen load.:)

[LtlWilli]

I don't have any figures to quote, but it's nectar output must be very good. I have a small grove of them myself, and I witness the same repetition of visits here.... A little time dead-heading old blooms off just serves to keep those new bloom spikes to keep on coming.There is no shortage of seeds, should anyone want some.

[dragonfly]

A little time dead-heading old blooms off just serves to keep those new bloom spikes to keep on coming.

I didn't realize that. Thanks:) I have a couple of vitex trees here. They are really tough plants, and beautiful in bloom.

[LtlWilli]

Yes, and they are going to do double-duty for me starting next spring....I am 6 miles outside of a small town, and this area used to be so pristine and quiet. Now, just to my NE, a danged housing project is going up...Hmmm...Rick needs a screening hedge...How about one that will block both noise and view?....LOL....this plant is a Godsend, even though it is so prolific that it has been put on the nuisance list.

[pgg]

Plus they are Bambi resistant!!!

[dragonfly]

LOL....this plant is a Godsend, even though it is so prolific that it has been put on the nuisance list.

I wasn't aware it is now considered a nuisance. Hmmm.
I love it personally. I planted one out by the fenceline at the back of the field about 5 years ago, then I forgot about it. One morning this past summer, DH was looking out the window and asked what that plant was with all the purple flowers. I had forgotten all about it.:) It's a tough plant.

Btw, I don't know if bees work red-tipped photinia (I hope I didn't botch the spelling), but it makes a great privacy screen once it is established well.

[LtlWilli]

I think it is ridiculous to label this plant a nuisance. In the woods, grasses and weeds serve to stop erosion. In urban areas, this could only get to be a bother if the people did not own a lawnmower, weedeater, or a goat for pete's sake....The hand of man creeps across the face of the world once more.

[magnet-man]

.It!s a bush with leaves they tell me that look like marijuana?It!s flower looks like the bloom on lavender.Any one know the nectar output of this plant?

It is a very good nectar source. Are the leaves on you vitex smooth or serrated edge? I have been looking for seeds to the serrated leaf variety.

[LtlWilli]

I have the serrated variety here. Just let me know how many seeds you'd like. No problem.
Rick

[brooksbeefarm]

Mine are serrated, I!ll be Ltlwilli!s backup if the birds haven!t found them:thumbsup:Good luck

[lupester]

I called the local nursery to see if they had vitex and they said they carried a chasteberry tree, are those two the same thing?

[pgg]

Yep. Vitex and chaste tree are the same.

[terri lynn]

I have 6 or 7 Vitex planted here. I had been told at a conference in TN that they were one of the best bee plants, but they were harder to find there. They are a Texas native and "Texas Superstar" plant, meaning they do great here with little to no care. When I bought the place here, I started planting them. They come in white as well as the blue/purple. Also, since joining the Master Gardener group here, I've learned there is also a dwarf variety and a ground cover vitex. We had some of both at our plant sale last week, but those of us working it couldn't buy until the "real" customers were done, and the dwarf variety was one of the 1st things sold out. I did get a couple of the ground cover plants. If you're in this area you can see them at the Weston nursery in Ft.Worth near Hulen. Frankly, I don't see how the bush or tree could be considered "invasive".

Terri

[Zane]

Jack,
"It!s a bush with leaves they tell me that look like marijuana!"
Do I need to plant this vitex in the back 40 instead of the front???? Dont need your brothers "Local"buddies up here bugging me about my "herbs"!!!lol
What kind of soil does it like best?
Any "preferred" ways to propagate the seeds? ie heat pad or ?

[Walliebee]

There are 250 species of Vitex known, native to tropical, subtropical and also warm temperate regions throughout the world. None are native to the USA. The most common one, Vitex agnus-castus (Chaste tree, Chasteberry or Monk's Pepper) is native to the scrublands of southern Spain, France, and similiar Mediterranean regions. In some places out of it’s native range it has been labeled as a nuisance plant due to its ability to seed into areas where it has a negative impact on the native ecology.

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

Prune plants in Spring as flowers only occur on the current seasons growth later in the Summer. Performs best in areas the have hot Summer conditions.

Cultivars worth looking for:

Abbeville Blue-- Deep blue flowers
Alba --White flowers
Blushing Spires-- Soft pink flowers
Fletcher Pink-- Lavender-pink flowers
Lilac Queen-- Lavender flowers; broad spreading; 20 feet tall
Montrose Purple-- Rich violet flowers; 8 to 10 feet tall
Rosea-- Pink flowers
Shoal Creek-- Large blue-violet flowers on 12 to 18" inflorescences; leaf spot resistance
Silver Spire-- White flowers

[lupester]

I planted 3 purple from 5 gallon buckets and 2 white / 1 pink from 4" pots. How long does it take for them to grow to a decent tree and start blooming? Also, how many hives would 6 trees be good for?

Thanks,
Lupester

[EastSideBuzz]

I called the local nursery to see if they had vitex and they said they carried a chasteberry tree, are those two the same thing?

I got a whole sex lesson from this tree. :lpf:

http://www.answers.com/topic/chasteberry-tree

Wonder if it will grow in the North West.?

[jbford]

i grew vitex from seeds. had both the serrated and smooth-leaved varieties. they attracted lots of bumblebees and almost no honeybees. they are fairly attractive and drought tolerant, but we eventually cut them down.

[Ross]

I see bumble bees and honey bees both hitting them hard in season here. They bloom in mid June and shut down and go to seed after a couple of weeks. Once they are 20 feet tall it's pretty hard to cut all the blooms off. The hiway department plants them on right of ways around here.

[terri lynn]

Ross,
You might want to prune. I've heard they bloom better on new wood. Mine (I have 7) bloom pretty much all summer and I think that's the norm for them. Honeybees do usually love it. I learned about it at the TN bee conference in 08 and they said it was one of the best plants for bees. It's in a number of the gardens I've been working in as well, and I prefer it pruned as a tree. As a shrub it can be huge!

Lupester- I have no idea about how many per hive, but I can tell you that ALL of mine bloomed the first year. Didn't matter how big. I put them in the ground at different times last spring and summer and they bloomed right away until the end of August or September. The ones in the public gardens didn't bloom as long, but again I believe that's because it was older wood and not pruned. None of mine were in 4 inch pots - they were 1 to 5 gallon.

[lupester]

I could not find anyone in our area that had the white or pink vitex so I had to order them. I ordered them from almostedenplants.com if anyone is looking for them and they looked great when they came in. I don't know how much the bees will be on these colors but thought i would let people know.

[ga.beeman]

I cant find these here around home anyone know where to get them or some seeds thanks david www.johnstonshoneyfarm.com

[Ted n Ms]

I was down at my camp house this week end doing some yard work. My wife said she heared a swarm of bees some where. I looked up and it was vitex in full bloom.I need to take some bees there. :doh:

[BeeAware]

They are difficult to find in my area, so I ordered seed and started a few seedlings. I now take cuttings and root them and sell them by the hundreds to other folks so bees in the area can all benefit from the trees. Sometimes if I have more than I can sell in a season, I give them as a gift for customers who buy other plants. If they happen to live near my apiaries, I still benefit from them.

[brooksbeefarm]

BeeAware, how do you start them from cuttings? mine don't seem to want to sucker from the roots and so far i haven't seen any growing from the seeds i let fall. Is their a male and female bush? I have several people wanting starts and i don't want to send them duds. I have 5 big bushes that are covered with seed in the fall and when they are in bloom i have yet to look at them any time of day (except night) that a bee wasn't working it. Jack