Vitex agnus-castus Blue Didley - Chaste Tree

Vitex agnus-castus 'Blue Didley', also known as Monk's Pepper, is a variety of Chaste Tree with a modest growth habit, well suited for small gardens. This shrub, with no other requirements than a sunny exposure, has more than one advantage, both ornamental and cultural: summer flowering in clusters of fragrant flowers of a beautiful lavender-blue, decorative and aromatic fruiting, a beautiful dark green palmate foliage that emits a fragrance, good cold resistance, and exemplary frugality and sobriety. The list of its qualities would be incomplete if we forget to mention that it perfectly tolerates sea spray and adapts to salty, sandy, poor, or even limestone soils. Objectively, few plants can rival this versatile Vitex, which is ready to make its entrance into every garden. 

Vitex agnus-castus is a deciduous shrub belonging to the Verbenaceae family, native to the Mediterranean basin and Asia Minor. Although it is particularly robust and easy to grow, it is often criticised for its excessive growth, disorderly habit, and lackluster flowering. All of these flaws have been corrected with this new 'Blue Didley' variety, obtained recently after years of experimental selection in the United States.

'Blue Didley' forms a rounded and bushy, highly compact shrub with gracefully upright branches. When mature, it will measure about 1.3 m (4 ft) in all directions. Its flowering occurs from July to September, depending on the climate, on the current year's shoots. Erect spikes, adorned with tiny flowers of a bright lavender-blue, cover the plant. Then small fruits the size of peppercorns appear, which are very aromatic, dark red and shiny, and persist until winter. The fast-growing stems are sturdy and very flexible. Quite late in spring, they develop palmate leaves which are divided into 5 slender lobes. Their colour is a beautiful dark bluish green, slightly silvery when they emerge. The foliage emits a strong pepper fragrance when crushed, hence its nickname of Pepper Tree. Vitex have a very deep root system, which allows them to draw moisture from deep down when the summer is dry. In very cold regions, the above-ground parts of the shrub will be destroyed, without harmful consequences for the plant, which will regrow in a few months and bloom abundantly on its new shoots. The deciduous foliage falls in autumn.

Often found by the coast, sometimes very close to the shore and anchored in the sand between rocks, Vitex agnus-castus withstands drought once well established, much like tamarisks, with which it gets along well. Having retained the qualities of this undemanding and sturdy shrub, the 'Blue Didley' variety proves to be more elegant, brighter, and easier to use in the garden, even when space is limited. Its modest growth allows it to fit into small spaces, in a container on the terrace, in a small free hedge or as a shrubbery, alongside oleanders (in mild climates), pink repeat-flowering roses (The Fairy), dwarf buddleias, or even summer tamarisks. This shrub with the appearance of a giant blue lupin is superb surrounded by yellow daylilies, shrubby lavender and grasses like Miscanthus Yaku jima, etc.

Its vernacular name of 'Monk's Pepper' dates back to the Middle Ages, when some clergymen consumed the berries of the shrub to resist the temptations of the flesh. Since then, studies have proven the plant's properties for relieving problems related to hormonal fluctuations in women. In Ancient Greece, the stems of Vitex were used to make strong bindings. Legend has it that Ulysses used these to tie his companions under the bellies of sheep, allowing them to escape from the Cyclops' cave.