I have one. It's a very nice tree but it likes plenty of water. We had the swamp cooler run-off hose going to it when the swamper was working, now it gets watered weekly. It's a very pretty tree this time of year, as long as it gets the water. HTH.

My sister has one growing in her front yard in Tempe. It is a healthy and beautiful tree. I believe it gets only lawn watering and that seems adequate for it. I haven't noticed it takes a great amount of water. It was slow to grow but after 3-4 years in the ground, it grew to a nice size tree.

I would highly recommend it for this area.

I never met this tree until we moved here years ago. It is a fabulous tree and, once established, doesn't really need a lot of water. (See link.) It is - and is not - a low maintenance tree. By "not" I mean that it drops the seeds all over the place and it is deciduous, so if you place it near a patio or pool, you'll be cleaning filters or sweeping frequently.

You'll also need to prune back suckers and crossed limbs to maintain the shape of the tree. These can be trained into large shrubs if you don't have a lot of space. Generally speaking, Chaste trees are not huge. My yard is irrigated, so they grow quickly and big.

The flowers are beautiful, the tree smells wonderful after a rain and you can make tea of the 'peppers' if you like. This one is on my south lawn and is much bigger now than when this pic was taken. We've pruned it fairly severely a few times. If you're not irrigating, your tree should grow more slowly and have less need to prune.

Here is a link that might be useful: vitex agnus castus, aka 'Chaste tree'

I should have added that this is a very hardy tree. I've seen them from here to Prescott, so they're adaptable, too.

Thanks for the information and the picture! I found a great looking one at Lowe's that I had to get because I loved the shape so much! I plan on planting it over a flower bed in a corner near my house. It is about 8 feet away from my house. I feel it should be fine in that corner as long as I keep it pruned.

Thanks for the information and the picture! I found a great looking one at Lowe's that I had to get because I loved the shape so much! I plan on planting it over a flower bed in a corner near my house. It is about 8 feet away from my house. I feel it should be fine in that corner as long as I keep it pruned.

Eight feet is rather close, but there is one near me snugged up to a house and kept in bush form. There's much to love about this tree.

My plan was to remove the Palm Trees and put the Vitex Tree where the taller palm is. I plan on planting Sage bushes along the house and Lantana all on the lower area of the garden bed. It gets so much sun in that area that it's hard for me to keep anything in that area so I am going more with low water full sun plants in that area.

I plan on building an aviary in the area right behind that small wall so I wanted a small tree to help shade the aviary.

It's pretty close to both house and wall, but if you don't overwater it and prune if judiciously, it should do fine. I could keep one small if they were not all in the irrigated part of the yard.

A vitex is not a small tree, it's a large tree. Try something else instead. Thevetia's are very pretty, and easy to manage. I've seen lots of nice ones around the valley.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thevetia Peruviana at UofA

I love Vitex trees too, although I agree with folks that your potential location is very close to the house for a tree of Vitex's size. You'll end up being annoyed by having to prune it away from your house so frequently, as will the tree, LOL. I love Mary's suggestion of a Thevetia (sometimes called yellow oleander even though it's not an oleander). Let us know what you select and how it works out. Have fun and keep us updated!

I read they are very poisonous to dogs. Would you recommend another small ornamental tree for the area?

Only if the dog eats it. Personally, I have never heard of a dog dying from, or even getting sick from, eating poisonous: oleander, thevetia, datura, mushrooms, etc etc etc. It's okay to grow these plants in your yard. You really don't need to worry about this kind of thing. I have two small dogs and a thevetia hedge of probably 25 trees. Also have oleander and datura. My dogs munch on mesquite beans, carob pods, bermuda grass and tons of other stuff, but they've never bothered the poisonous stuff.

Bear in mind that the poisonous part is the milky sap. An animal would need to really want to get to that part of a tree.

Anyway, it's your yard. Sorry about the rant but this is such a common misconception that sometimes I can't keep from speaking up. I don't mean to offend, just to educate.

Carry on. Peace. Mary

This post was edited by marymcp on Sun, Jul 28, 13 at 10:31