When Should I Prune My Vitex Tree?

Q. When should Vitex tree be trimmed and how much should
be cut?

A. Vitex blooms in early summer through late June or
July. If this plant is pruned with a hedge shears you will likely affect how it
blooms this summer.

Vitex with flowers in June

Any pruning done now should
selectively remove entire branches back to a crotch. This is a pruning
technique called “drop-crotching”. This technique reduces the size of a plant
while still retaining its natural form. Drop-crotching avoids plant injuries
due to “topping”.

Limbs that add height or size
are removed at the juncture with a branch of smaller size. This type of limb
removal maintains terminal buds at a lower height, retains flowers and
maintains the architecture of the plant.

The opposite of drop-crotching
is topping, or shearing the plant at a desired height or size. We do not want
to do that to most trees. After reducing the size of Vitex we would remove any
crossed branches or broken branches and shape the tree to maintain its symmetry.