Camellia sinensis (green tea)
Nov 2, 2018 15:16:04 GMT -5
Jonathan Mejia, calen, and 2 more like this
Post by meizzwang on Nov 2, 2018 15:16:04 GMT -5
I was pretty shocked to find out a few years back that green tea comes from a camellia plant! Many non-plant people looked at me a said "seriously MW, you didn't know that?" Of course, it was impossible to resist growing some of these, so I bought 3 plants to see how they would do in our mediterannean climate. I mean, if you can grow the common Camellia, green tea plants should be a snap, right?
Turns out, I'm not really sure how to grow this plant: apparently, it likes cooler weather, but does best in the subtropics? It's been a challenge to figure out the ideal conditions for this plant, so I grew it like you would grow any other shade plant: give it nice morning sun and afternoon shade. Some growers say you can grow these plants in full sun, others say they do best in part shade. It probably depends on your environment.
Long story short, my plants grew very slowly and then had some serious die back during the summer. I had been careful not to over or under water it, so what gives? No idea, but the plants fully recovered in the fall and two of them are blooming!
When is the best time to transplant, and what soil mix do you use? I'm still trying to figure that out, this plant is supposedly so easy to grow, it can withstand a wide range of soil types, but prefers acidic soil. If it was so easy to grow, why doesn't everyone have one in their yard? Am I the only one who thinks this plant isn't all that easy?
I've had my clones for 2 years now, and they all arrived as healthy "sticks" with little to no side branching. I pruned them back to grow more bushy and now they're starting to take off...well, actually, they're blooming and then supposed to go dormant-ish until spring, but we'll see what happens. Pics taken 11/1/18:
The flowers smell HEAVENLY! It's decently potent and citrusy:
Neither really healthy looking nor sick:
Turns out, I'm not really sure how to grow this plant: apparently, it likes cooler weather, but does best in the subtropics? It's been a challenge to figure out the ideal conditions for this plant, so I grew it like you would grow any other shade plant: give it nice morning sun and afternoon shade. Some growers say you can grow these plants in full sun, others say they do best in part shade. It probably depends on your environment.
Long story short, my plants grew very slowly and then had some serious die back during the summer. I had been careful not to over or under water it, so what gives? No idea, but the plants fully recovered in the fall and two of them are blooming!
When is the best time to transplant, and what soil mix do you use? I'm still trying to figure that out, this plant is supposedly so easy to grow, it can withstand a wide range of soil types, but prefers acidic soil. If it was so easy to grow, why doesn't everyone have one in their yard? Am I the only one who thinks this plant isn't all that easy?
I've had my clones for 2 years now, and they all arrived as healthy "sticks" with little to no side branching. I pruned them back to grow more bushy and now they're starting to take off...well, actually, they're blooming and then supposed to go dormant-ish until spring, but we'll see what happens. Pics taken 11/1/18:
The flowers smell HEAVENLY! It's decently potent and citrusy:
Neither really healthy looking nor sick: