Easy-Care and Abundant Blooms
If you’re looking for something with some crazy flower power, this new Vitex may be just the shrub you’ve been searching for. Rock Steady™ chastetree (Vitex agnus-castus) blooms for months, blooming 6-16 weeks longer than other Vitex (the warmer your climate, the longer the bloom time).
In late spring, this beauty is covered in long spires packed with purple/blue flowers, and the flower show continues through fall, giving you and pollinators plenty of time to stop and enjoy. You can even collect some of those flowers for cut flower arrangements! It has a tidy, rounded shape that is super easy to maintain. Plus, this beauty is drought- and heat-tolerant and deer-resistant.
Rock Steady™ is cold hardy to USDA zone 5b and heat tolerant to USDA zone 9. It thrives in full sun and grows 4-12’ tall and 4-5’ wide, which sounds like quite the range. In cooler climates, Rock Steady™ will die back to the ground some winters, which keeps it closer to that lower end of the size range. In warmer climates, it will get bigger and reach heights closer to the upper end of the size range.
Pruning Rock Steady™ will look a little different depending on your climate. In cooler climates, it can be treated like an herbaceous perennial– leave it standing over winter and cut it down in early spring. In warmer climates, you can prune it to shape in the spring, cutting out any parts that didn’t survive the winter.
Hummingbird Magnets
Hummingbirds are a treat to see in your garden, and if you’ve been trying to find plants that will keep those fluttering creatures coming back, check out Kristina’s “Best Shrubs for Hummingbird Garden” blog to see which shrubs hummingbirds like to visit. Rock Steady™ chastetree is a great option if you’re looking to invite hummingbirds and other pollinators to your space!