What is a Chaste Tree?
A chaste tree, also known as Vitex agnus-castus or “monk’s pepper,” is an attractive shrub that can be found growing in many gardens and landscapes. It has an interesting history of being used for medicinal purposes, however it has become increasingly popular due to its beauty and fragrant blooms. The chaste tree grows quickly but requires pruning to maintain its size and shape.
When to Prune a Chaste Tree
The best time to prune a chaste tree is late winter or early spring before new growth begins. This will give the plant time to heal from the pruning before summer arrives and the growing season gets underway. If you wait too long into the season, then you risk disturbing buds which may affect flowering later on in the year. In addition, if there are any diseased branches they should be removed right away so as not spread throughout the rest of the plant.
How To Prune A Chaste Tree Properly
To begin with, remove any dead or diseased branches first using clean gardening tools such as loppers or saws. Then thin out excess shoots by selecting those which grow towards areas where light cannot reach them (this will allow more light into other parts of bush). Once this step is complete then focus on shaping your desired form – either creating height by tapping down lower branches while lifting up higher ones; alternatively cut back topmost stems slightly shorter than others for flat headed look (good approach when wanting privacy shield over garden/terrace). Finally tidy up edges around plant outline – use sharp secateurs where needed! Be sure not take off more than 30% total volume at one go otherwise shock may stress out foliage health considerably resulting in yellowing leaves & stunted growths afterwards…
It’s important that during entire process only healthy wood should remain untouched while all nonviable bits get discarded into compost bin – no need keeping them around just because they still attached themselves onto living branch structure! Furthermore always make sure never leave behind stubble remains since these invite infections easily & won’t help achieve neat looking end result either… Above all else though remember this basic rule ‘proper trimming encourages better air circulation’; thus allowing sufficient amount light penetrate through gaps created thereby enabling increased photosynthesis activity without fail!
