Small white flowers with a yellow centre stand out against shiny evergreen leaves: the tea tree (Camellia sinensis) is the shrub every cup of green or black tea begins with. Keep it sheltered from wind in light, acidic, well-drained soil watered with rainwater, and a plant three years old will yield leaves for your own tea.
| Name | Camellia sinensis |
|---|---|
| Family | Theaceae |
| Type | Flower shrub |
| Height | 3 to 9 feet (1 to 3 m) |
| Exposure | Sun and part sun |
| Soil | Rather light and well drained |
| Flowering | late autumn to early spring |
| Foliage | Evergreen |
Camellia sinensis, or tea tree, is a very famous relative of the ornamental Japanese Camellia. Original, and edible, the tea tree grows very well in the ground (as a standalone or part of a hedge) and… in pots!
Its smallish size for a shrub (3-4 to 9-12 feet, or about 1-1.5 to 3-4 meters) makes it a shrub that fits well in urban gardens.
It’s possible to plant a tea tree anytime during the year, apart from during frost spells in winter and high temperature days in summer.
From mid-spring to early summer is a great time to settle it in the ground, but you can also go ahead in early autumn/mid-autumn. Find a place that is well-protected from wind, either in the shade or in part shade.
In its natural environment, in China, it grows at high altitudes in a cool but constant atmosphere. In other parts of the world, it’ll prefer temperate and coastal climates, and will positively thrive in areas that have a mild and moist climate.
The tea tree is cold hardy down to 19-23°F (-5 to -7°C), but it’s better to winterize it in a greenhouse or a lean-in to protect its leaves: they’ll fall off if it freezes or snows.
If your tea tree is growing in a pot, bring it out from late spring to mid-autumn. Keep it in the shade and out of the wind.
Tea tree likes well aerated soil that drains well, stays cool, and most importantly, an acidic pH because it’s a heath plant at heart. Give it mulch made from pine tree bark, and water as soon as the surface of the soil is dry. Use rainwater because it hates hard water. Also feel free to mist its leaves on days of hot weather.
The tea tree works to its own rhythm, in the ground and in a pot alike. Here are the moments in the year that matter most.
| Stage | When | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Planting in the ground | mid-spring to early summer, or early autumn/mid-autumn | Choose a spot well protected from wind, in shade or part shade |
| Pot-grown plants outdoors | late spring to mid-autumn | Stand the pot in the shade and out of the wind |
| Winter protection | During frost and snow | Move to a greenhouse or lean-in, or the leaves drop |
| Flowering | early summer, then mid-autumn to early winter | Small white flowers with a yellow centre against shiny leaves |
| Leaf harvest | Early dawn in early summer | Young leaves only, from a plant at least three years old |
Summer is also the moment to take cuttings and increase your stock.
It’s perfectly possible to cultivate a tea tree in your own home, in the garden, and harvest its leaves to make your own tea.
In early summer, and then again from mid-autumn to early winter It then is covered in small white flowers with a yellow center, which look magnificent against the elegant, shiny leaves.
These fragrant, evergreen leaves are the basis for brewing tea.
To gather your own production, harvest the young leaves of a tree that’s at least 3 years old. Early dawn in early summer is best.
Dry the leaves for 24 hours in the shade, and then again in an oven at around 200°F (90°C), with the door open to evacuate moisture. Savor its authentic taste and experiment with growing techniques and drying times to adapt it to your taste over the years!
Take note: you’ll need to gather several pounds of leaves to get a single pound of tea, and a single tea tree won’t let you gather very much of it.
Tea trees are the first step in preparing tea, and how you prepare the leaves after the harvest makes the difference between green tea and black tea. If the leaves are simply dried, you’ll get green tea. Black tea, on the other hand, requires fermenting the leaves beforehand. Rich in both theanine and caffeine, tea is not only savored for its taste, but also for its many medicinal properties and for the health benefits it procures the body.
