Tea Plant Camellia sinensis

Tea Plant

The black and green tea on wour breakfast table cores from a plant belonging to the Camelia family, more precise it comes from the dried and fermented leaves ofthe Came lia sinensis, The evergréen shrub can grow up to one meter when cultivated in a tub The bark of its young branches starts out with a reddish colour and white hairs and, over time, becomes bald with a yellowish-grey colour. The final buds are silvery and haired as well, Its creamy flowers with the narrow arranged golden yellow filaments in the center, creating a lovely contrast to the dark green shiny leaves of the Tea Plant.

Natural location: The original habitat of the Tea Plant Is

Mvanmal, India and

southern China

Cultivation: Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. To increase the germinability, you should place the sceds for about 12 hours in warm water for priming. Then, plant the seeds about 1 cm deep in moist potting compost and cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out. Don’t forget to make same holes in the dear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and

Camelia sinensis

Mav and October you can also move vous plant to a semi-shaded and wind-protected place outside in the garden or on vour balc-

опу

Care: Best for cultivating a Tea Plant is rhododendran soil mixed with 10%6 sand See that you use lime deficient water and avoid waterlogging in the saucer. Between April and September it is advisable to aive Fertilizer for tub plants every two weeks. The Tea Plant grows naturally compact and well-branched, so a regular pruning is not necessary, However, after it developed five new leaves each time vou mav cut off the upper two and the bud. That way your plant becomes even stronger and starts flowering already after two to three years.

During the winter: The Tea Plant should be kept in a bright spot with a temperature botween 10° and 15° Celsius during hiber-nation. If it is placed somewhere in the living space at room temperature during the win-ter, it will continue to grow and has to be taken care off accordinaly, concerning wa-tering, fertilizing and probably pruning.