We have three Vitex in our backyard and only one bloomed. The other too it looks like where it should be blooming the leaf growth is stunted. They are super small and all over. Any suggestions as to what this might be?

It looks like herbicide drift.

That looks like herbicide damage to me.

DaisyI said:

It looks like herbicide drift.

Thank you! I'm not much of a gardener but I can tell something is wrong.

Can they recover from a herbicide drift?

lots of water, wash off the foliage. I have had things recover, but yours may not recover this season. Knowing the source of the drift is going to benefit you. If you have neighbor that sprays ask them to let you know first so you can cover things up.

I have had many plants recover.

I honestly think it's my husband spraying weeds. He gets a little trigger happy.

Thanks for the help!!

I hear people say herbicide drift when they don't know the real answer all the time. I wish people would stop saying that too because they are saying their plants have been poisoned when they haven't . It's not herbicide drift because herbicide is never sprayed that high off the ground to begin with.

You have a case of Thysanoptera, also known as thrips, which can cause great damage to the growth and the generative development of Vitex agnus-castus.

An easy way to look for thrips is to bang a branch or leaves over a sheet of white paper then black paper. The thrips will fall on the paper, making them easy to see.

Blast them off the plant with a water hose using a hand held jet nozzle sprayer. You can use a hand pump sprayer with a mix of dish soap or neem if you can get your spray high enough to reach the top.

Interesting oneyeluke. Based on my quick research of thrips I have no leaf damage. Just stunted growth but I'll definitely look into it further. Thanks!

I honestly think it's my husband spraying weeds. He gets a little trigger happy.

Thanks for the help!!

DaisyI said:

It looks like herbicide drift.

Thank you! I'm not much of a gardener but I can tell something is wrong.

Can they recover from a herbicide drift?

If you get herbicide drift that high in the tree, you would be poisoned too..If your husband is that reckless with herbicide, there's something very wrong. I live in Texas too, and I specialize in Vitex and know what I'm talking about. I've been propagating this plant for many years, the have many of my plants all over town blooming right now. Here's a few photos of my plants taken from my yard today.

Some plants are very sensitive to it, and it can drift in a breeze, and yes you can get damage higher up on plants and that is what it looks like. Deformed, leaves that are usually smaller and sometimes mis-colored.

Only the leaves forming during or after the herbicide spraying will be deformed. Those are frequently at the top of the tree. Herbicides act systemically, so even if the bottom leaves are sprayed, you are going to see the result in the developing leaves - possibly at the top of the tree.