Daisy: I prune mine only for shape. Mine also lose their leaves every winter. Two are 10 years old and are about 15' tall with multiple lower branches. The other two are younger and more tree-like with one main bole topped with many limbs about 2' from the ground; they are about 10'. I don't even prune them every year. When they were small I would meticulously remove every raceme of berries. Now I don't even do that.... as if I could reach that high!

Thanks Westelle. I won't cut it back next year except for a tidy-up. My plant only gets about a foot high with the cut-back. I know it should get a lot bigger than that, but I want it shrubby, not like a tree. Obviously I haven't given it the chance to grow. It's a pretty plant, very drought-resistant, just perfect here at the moment, and the less I have to do in the garden the better, now that somebody else has to do it for me!

Have you ever tried the berries as a substitute for pepper?

While I would never move elsewhere and I like the change of the seasons (even the cold and snow), I do sometimes wish I could grow some warmer zoned plants in my outdoor gardens. I've had a chaste tree for 4 years now. It was a seedling when I got it and it still is at 1 foot or less in height and spread. The top dies to the ground with the freeze and grows back from the roots each late spring. Some sources say they are hardy in US zone 6 but it seems as though it's a little too cold here for it. We were re-zoned from zone 5 to zone 6 a few years back so it is always a gamble on the plants hardy to zone 6. Sometimes you just have to try - especially with plants as beautiful and useful as the chaste tree. :)

FataMorgana

I wasn't aware that I could use the seeds for "pepper". I always thought they were a potent herbal and haven't tried using them. I only know that they use to steep the seeds in wine and give it to the celibate monks to drink.... thus the "Chaste Tree". I haven't a clue whether it worked or not. ;^)

The tale I've heard was that the monks used to sprinkle the ground seeds over their food to act as an anti-aphrodisiac. Nuns used it too - but they used to line their bedding with the herb in the hope it would help to 'keep them innocent'. Certainly, in modern times, the seeds are used as a sedative!

Actually, these days it's used to balance the libido in both men and women, and for women with menstrual or menopausal problems. It is used only for short-term treatment, and is not suitable for women under 20. It does interfere with other hormone treatments, including contraceptive pills because of its hormonal action. We're talking medicinal doses, of course.

Usual Dosage: Pour 1 cup boiling water onto l teaspoonful of the ripe berries and leave to infuse for l0-l5 minutes. Take three times a day. Works best in an alkaline environment, so take 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda in water 30 minutes before use, and do not drink cranberry juice or other acidic juices while using it.

The leaves can be used added to food as a flavouring, apparently, but it's the berries which are used medicinally.

I think I'll just stick with it as a pretty tree.