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Verbenaceae FAMILY

Vitex agnus-castus

Vitex agnus-castus

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
5/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Shrub
GrowthMedium

Prefers a light well-drained loamy soil in a warm sunny position sheltered from cold drying winds[1, 2]. Succeeds in dry soils. Intolerant of water-logging[3]. Hardy to about -10°c, this species only succeeds outdoors in the milder parts of Britain[4, 5], though it grows well on a wall at Kew[5]. Plants only flower freely in a warm summer, so they are best grown against a sunny wall even in areas of the country where they are hardy[6]. The plants failed to open their flowers on our Cornish trial ground even after a very hot summer[PFAF]. The flowers are produced so late in the season that they are unlikely to produce viable seed in this country even if they flower properly[PFAF]. A very ornamental plant[4], there are some named varieties[6]. The whole plant is aromatic, the leaves and stems are strongly aromatic[7], the flowers are deliciously scented[8] and the dried seeds have a pungent lemony perfume[8]. This species has long been regarded as a symbol of chastity[9]. Flowers are produced at the ends of the current year's growth[3]. Any pruning is best carried out in the spring and should consist of cutting out dead wood and shortening last year's flowering branches[6].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse. The seed does not need pre-treatment[10]. Germination is usually free and quick[10]. 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, mid summer in a frame. Good percentage[11]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth, late autumn in a cold frame[10]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Vitex+agnus-castus>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Shrubs for the Milder Counties. — Arnold-Forster. ↩︎Trees and shrubs that grow well in Cornwall and other mild areas of Britain. Fairly good, a standard reference book.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Climbers and Wall Shrubs. — Davis. B. · Viking. · 1990 · ISBN 0-670-82929-3 ↩︎Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.
  4. [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  5. [5]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  6. [6]Gardening on Walls — Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. · Collins · 1983 · ISBN 0-00-219220-0 ↩︎A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.
  7. [7]Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. — Thomas. G. S. · Murray · 1992 · ISBN 0-7195-5043-2 ↩︎Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
  8. [8]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  9. [9]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. — Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. · Athens Ga. Varsity Press · 1987 · ISBN 0942375009 ↩︎A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  12. [12]Flowers of Greece and the Balkans. — Polunin. O. · Oxford University Press · 1980 · ISBN 0-19-217626-9 ↩︎A good pocket flora, it also lists quite a few plant uses.
  13. [13]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  14. [14]Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. — Polunin. O. · Oxford University Press · 1969 · ISBN 0192176218 ↩︎An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.
  15. [15]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  16. [16]Trees of North Texas — Vines. R.A. · University of Texas Press. · 1982 · ISBN 0292780206 ↩︎A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.
  17. [17]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
  18. [18]Flowers of the Mediterranean. — Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. · Hogarth Press · 1987 · ISBN 0-7012-0784-1 ↩︎A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.
  19. [19]Herbs of Greece. — Niebuhr. A. D. · Herb Society of America. · 1970 · ISBN - ↩︎A pleasant little book about Greek herbs.
  20. [20]The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. — Mills. S. Y. ↩︎An excellent small herbal.
  21. [21]Agnus Castus — Bartram. T. · - · ISBN - ↩︎A leaflet that summarizes the medicinal virtues of Vitex agnus-castus.
  22. [22]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  23. [23]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  24. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎