How do I grow a tea plant at home?

A tea lover with a green thumb? Why not combine your passions and grow tea in your own garden? This way, you can enjoy an annual plucking and prepare your own teas. What's more, the Camellia Sinensis shrub offers dense foliage and beautiful flowers to adorn your outdoors. To ensure that it lives to the full for many years to come, you need to respect its growing conditions: moderate sun exposure, acid soil, watering and protection in winter.

Country of origin and requirements of Camellia Sinensis

The tea plant, or Camellia Sinensis, is an evergreen tree. It can reach 10 meters in height. Each year, beautiful white and yellow flowers adorn the shrub from October to December.

Tea-growing countries

Tea bushes grow naturally in several Asian countries, but especially in the mountains of China. Here, the soil is acidic, moist all year round and well drained. The climate is mild in both summer and winter, with plenty of rain.

Tea growing in France

In France, Brittany and the Atlantic coast are good regions for growing tea. To grow tea at home, you need to respect the following conditions:

• a temperature of around 20°C, avoiding frost;
• acid, heather-typesoil;
• frequent, but not excessive, watering;
• moderate but not direct sunlight;
• sheltered from the wind.

Seeds or seedlings?

To start growing tea plants, you'll need Camellia Sinensis seeds or seedlings. You can easily find seeds on the Internet. But germinating them and planting successfully is a long and tedious process. To be sure of producing tea leaves from the very first year, buy a young seedling or a mature tree from a nurseryman.

Proper planting of your shrub

Good tea growing starts with careful planting. Here are a few tips to help you get your shrubs into the ground.

Grow tea in a pot or in the garden?

If you have an ideal spot in your garden that meets the plant's requirements, don't hesitate to plant it. If you've just acquired young plants and winter is rather harsh in your area, put them in pots. That way, you'll be able to manage their environment better for a few years. Once they're grown up, you can plant them in your garden to give them even more enjoyment.

When to plant your shrub?

You should plant your shrub when temperatures are mild and rainfall is frequent. In France, these periods correspond to spring and autumn. You can also try planting in summer. Just be careful of the sun and the water supply. But don't plant in winter. Young plants cannot take root because of frosts.

How to plant a tea plant?

Start by digging a hole twice the size of your plant's root ball. Prepare a mixture of garden soil, heather soil (unless your soil is acidic) and fertile shrub compost. Plant your tea plant, then move on to maintenance until the next harvest. If you're growing tea in pots, remember to repot your plants as they grow.

Caring for your plant year after year

With proper care, tea plants are robust, disease-resistant and long-lived. Follow these tips to grow tea every year.

Watering the tea plant and water quality

Growing tea requires regular watering. Tea roots need constant moisture, especially in the first year. As soon as the surface of the soil dries out, water at the base of the plant and up to a metre around it, to keep the roots well hydrated. Preferably use rainwater. Or let tap water stand for 24 hours before watering. Tea plants don't like limescale or chlorine.

Caring for your plant in winter and summer

The tree and its leaves do not tolerate a dry summer and scorching sun. In this situation, watering is even more important. So don't hesitate to mist the leaves and mulch the plant to retain moisture. In the event of a harsh winter, winterize your potted tea plants. You can also use a protective veil for shrubs in the ground. If it snows, shake the tree regularly. Snow is aggressive to its green leaves.

Quality soil for spring

In spring, it's important to provide your plant with fresh soil. Feed it with an acid soil loam or natural fertilizer. This operation can also be carried out in autumn.

Harvesting leaves in spring

The main advantage of growing tea is that you get pesticide-free tea leaves. Your production will be small, but you'll be able to harvest leaves at least once a year. The ideal time to pick is late spring, in June. For the best flavour of your teas, it's best to pick the bud along with one or two young leaves.

Preparing homemade teas after picking

Between picking and Tea Time, there's an important step missing: drying the leaves and buds. You can place your harvest in the sun for 24 hours. Or toast it gently in the oven at 90°C for a few minutes, leaving the door ajar. You can then enjoy the floral taste of a green tea infusion. If you want to make quality black tea, you'll need to wilt the leaves and leave them to ferment between two dryings. Growing tea also allows you to create your own flavored blends. When the leaves are ready, add fruit, spices, flowers or herbs. Place in an airtight container for a few days and let the tea absorb the taste of each ingredient.