A cup of sunlight
‘Wilson’s Yellow’ daylily opened over the weekend. Doesn’t this one seem to be holding a cup of sunlight?
The vitex tree in the front garden is in full bloom. Though it’s also known as chaste lilac, unlike true lilac it offers no scent—just purple spires. But those purple spires are quite lovely.
Pretty though the vitex is, I don’t recommend it to Austin gardeners because it’s on the City of Austin’s list of locally invasive plants. Also, it takes quite a lot of pruning and shaping to coax a tree out of it. Vitex wants, above all, to be a shrub. I’ve had to be quite strict with this one.
A close-up of the flower
‘Marie Pavie’ rose with a visitor
Wild coneflower along Bull Creek
A last look at ‘Wilson’s Yellow’. I look forward to many more of these cheerful daylilies in the weeks to come.
Those daylilies are like a ray of sunshine in your garden, very pretty! For some strange reason I don’t have daylilies in my garden, how very remiss of me. I think I’ll have a chat with Gotta Garden about it. 🙂
Those wild coneflowers are very attractive, they look like those shuttles you use for badminton, only more colourful.
Oh, you must remedy that oversight, YE. 😉 Daylilies say “School’s out, summer’s here!” to me. —Pam
Pam — I wonder why TXDOT plants (or at least planted) vitexes in so many spots along the highways if they are considered invasive? Maybe it’s a recent designation? I used to have a vitex (one of the few plants that were removed for our addition) and I battled it every year to keep it in a tree-like shape. I loved the curving trunks that resulted from the pruning — and those purple plumes, as well. Does your vitex ever succumb to some kind of late summer leaf drop?
— Susan
It’s a recent designation, Susan. It just appeared on the invasives list last year. No, mine has never dropped its leaves in the summer. It has always performed very well. —Pam
While the vitex tree in bloom always draws a lot of attention, at this point I don’t know that I would recommend it either. I have two in my front yard, courtesy of my builder. Currently, one is in full bloom and has a nice shape. The other is slower to bloom and, despite my best pruning efforts, show a complete lack of regard for my ideas of shape and form. Is this a losing battle?
Well, I don’t know, Jean. But I like to think that when a plant continues to disappoint, it’s trying to tell you that you have an opportunity to plant something new. 😉 I’m thinking of replacing my vitex one day with a Mexican buckeye. —Pam
The daylily does have a nice sunshine look to it, Pam – that color combination seems to come up a lot – in the wild coneflowers, gaillardia, calliopsis, etc.
My small vitex has been in training as a tree for a few years, with no flowers at present. It’s i the center of a lawn area, with nothing else, so I can prune it from all sides and try to make it into a living parasol. We had a couple at the last house which got a little larger than expected because they were in mixed borders. Besides the flowers, they gave some shade and some privacy screening. They were invaluable where the deer tore limbs off pine and crepe myrtles, and were one of the few shrubs/trees that had any branches left that grew lower than 6 feet off the ground. Cenizo/Texas Sage was another that the deer didn’t eat. Maybe that’s why the highway department uses them?
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Yes, perhaps. And perhaps their deer resistance is what’s helped them to naturalize so well in the wild. —Pam
How sad that vitex isn’t really a good option for a smallish flowering tree to grow in Austin — seeing photos of yours has made me want one! What are other choices for smallish flowering trees that would work in Austin (east of I-35, if soil is an issue)? I really love the shape of the branches on your vitex and would love something similar.
Mexican buckeye, crepe myrtle, Texas redbud, Anacacho orchid tree, Mexican plum. All but the crepe myrtle are native. —Pam
Great pictures- the vitex is so stunning but I’m glad to read the comments about the work they take to keep the shape. I have a white redbud that is one of my favorites and provides a nice departure from the other purple redbuds around. Also like the Mexican plum. Good suggestions.
I’m glad you pointed out the white redbud as an option too. Annie in Austin has one. I’d love to see pics of one in bloom. —Pam
It seems like, until recently, vitex was actually a recommended plant, wasn’t it? Maybe I’m imagining that. I’ll have to look it up in my old garden guide (the one from the local master gardener’s association.)
I don’t know, R. Vitex is certainly tough enough to be recommended by nurseries, which always stock them. And of course, if they thrive along the highways, you know they’re hardy. —Pam
Great pics. That is a great daylily. I just transplanted many daylilies today but none of that variety. They are so reliable.
Thanks. The evergreen daylilies are the most reliable around Austin. I’ve lost a couple of the kind that die back in the winter. —Pam
Your garden looks lovely! I have some time to Daylilies to open. That tree is amazing. That kind of lilac wont survive over our winter I think. Luckily there is many other lilacs which can be growed here up north. They are my fafourites. Happy gardening to you!
Thank you, Sanni. The vitex is truly lovely at this time of year, though it isn’t a true lilac. I’ve yet to see a true lilac in bloom. One of these days . . . —Pam
To bad your Vitex is not well behaved, I have certainly enjoyed it from afar. I think you have yours very well trained, it’s lovely.
Well, I’m probably too hard on it, Robin. It behaves well these days. It just took a lot of pruning for the first several years. And it does seed out pretty aggressively. But overall I’ve enjoyed it. It’s just that knowing it’s invading Austin’s greenbelts, I wouldn’t plant it again. —Pam
Well, that is a treat to see a new tree. I’ve never heard of a vitex. They must not grow in Zone 5. Beautiful flowers.
It’s confusing that it’s on the Texas SuperStar Plant list as well.
The Austin invasive list said it “can be an appropriate plant in a managed yard” so I’ll keep mine in 🙂
Mine has a lot more growing to do to catch up to yours, it’s just a 4 footer now.
I wouldn’t take mine out either. It’s too pretty for that. But the quote about it being non-invasive in a “managed yard” seems a little suspect, as the birds will presumably spread the seeds far beyond the confines of any managed yard. 😉
My 15-ft. vitex was just 2-ft. tall when I planted it six years ago. It’s a fast grower! —Pam
Yeah, the vitex was on the Green Gardens list for a long time, too. No fair. My arborist said he hasn’t seen in invading too much, so he is still recommending it. Also said you can help keep it from invading by deadheading after the blooms.
Hee, hee! That would be a Sisyphean task on a mature vitex like mine. I wonder how he would propose reaching the hundreds of spent flowers on a 15′ x 15′ tree? 🙂 —Pam