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