Description
Vitex negundo | Chinese Chaste Tree
Chinese Chaste Tree, also known as Five-Leaved Chaste Tree, Horseshoe Vitex, Asian Chasteberry, Huang Ping, or Nisinda, is a hardy, deciduous, aromatic shrub growing 5-8 ft tall. The palmate foliage is similar to that of Hemp, having 5 leaflets per leaf. Its large, dense, branched panicles of flowers are composed of a multitude of smaller pale purple-blue flowers that are produced over many weeks at the end of summer. It’s in leaf from June to October, and in flower from August to October, with the seeds ripening from October to December.
Suitable for light sandy soil, medium loamy soil, well-drained soil, and even nutritionally poor soil. Ideally, Hemp-leaf Chaste Tree should be sited in a well drained site in full sun. Will become drought tolerant once established. It will not grow well in the shade and is intolerant of water-logging.
For the Chinese Chaste Tree, any pruning is best carried out in the spring (April or early May) and should consist of cutting out dead wood and shortening last year’s flowering branches.
The flowers attract a variety of pollinators, including smaller, shorter tongued bees like Honeybees, and larger native bees, like Bumblebees.
It is advised to keep rooted plants in pots with protection or a greenhouse through the first winter and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer of the following year.
Type: Perennial
Sun exposure: Full sun
Mature height: 5-8 ft
Mature width: 4-6 ft
Hardiness zones: 6-10
We ship plants orders out on Mondays and Tuesdays only.
UNROOTED CUTTINGS:
- Price is for five cuttings (5)
- Each cutting is 4-9 inches long. May be single top or multi-top.
- Guaranteed to be green, healthy, and alive. Plus pest and pathogen free.
- Guaranteed to be true-to-name.
- Packages are shipped out on Mondays and Tuesdays ONLY.
- If it’s believed the plants are not alive and healthy when you receive them you must let us know any concerns you have within 24 hours of arrival. If we do not hear any concerns within 24 hours it will be assumed that everything arrived in good standing. We cannot be held responsible for mishaps, errors, mistakes, or bad luck after this time frame.
ROOTING INSTRUCTIONS:
How to prepare cuttings to root via rooting cubes inside a humidity dome.
- Upon arrival, give cuttings a new fresh cut on the bottom of the stem. Then set in a cup of water for a minimum of 15 minutes.
- After soaking, gently cut or scrape small marks into the bottom portion of the plant stem (½ inch) with scissors or a razor blade.
- Dip the scarred end of the stem into rooting gel or rooting powder (gel is superior). This can be done without rooting gel, but results are not as good.
- Insert the plant stem into a rooting cube (Oasis cubes, grow plugs, soil-cubes, rock-wool cubes, etc) and place into a nursery tray with a humidity dome over the top. One cutting per cube. Custom individual humidity domes can be made using plastic cups and/or plastic cling wrap.
- After the first 3-5 days, the humidity dome should be opened up or set ajar to slowly allow more air in as the plants start to root. At this point, the cubes should be allowed to become mostly dry before adding any more water.
- Once 2-3 roots grow out of the bottom of the root-cube, the plant can be transplanted into soil.
- More detailed rooting instructions will accompany your order.
