A tea tree has grown!

I just recently purchased a home and as a cool bonus it has a small greenhouse attached. I have been a grower of Bonsai trees for almost a decade now, but I wanted to try my hand at some new things. So a while back I was embarking on the process of attempting to grow my own tea tree's (Camilia Sinensis). I planted four of the surprisingly large chick-pea sized seeds and one has not only sprouted but is growing at an amazing clip! I will follow with photo's because it is pretty cool to see, once I get home from work today.

Now, I began thinking of all sorts of things that hadn't occurred to me up till now. What type of soil should I grow it in, a large difference in the taste of tea comes from environmental factors such as soil, rainfall, etc. Any thoughts? I don't expect anyone to be an expert on the growing side of things, but to hear some of the conditions where certain tea is grown would help decide. I also figured with Karsten being right at the source, I might be able to get some insight as to things like fertilizers and whatnot... I kind of plan on not using any chemical fertilizers as I tend to stay natural with my plants but again any info would be useful in deciding balances.

I have about 12 more seeds still and if the germination rate is about

25% I should get 3 or 4 more trees to grow. Now I just need to wait a few years and I can share some of the first flush. :)

- Dominic Drinking: Numi Jasmine Green Pearls

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Dominic T.
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There's actually a fair amount of technical literature on tea cultivation. I picked up a couple of books in Calcutta last year, but I don't know how easy it is to find this stuff in the USA.

Regarding the ontopicity of your tea cultivation adventure: I say give us more! That, and best of luck.

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

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