Have you ever asked yourself how to grow tea on a windowsill? If not, now is the time to think about it. Because, it turns out, although this is not entirely simple, it is quite possible. To keep a tea bush at home as a houseplant and feast on freshly picked tea - is this not the dream of every drink lover?
Varieties of tea
Tea is grown in different countries. Although if you ask the question, where is the birthplace of tea, for some reason many answer that in India. In fact, tea came to us from China. And still this country is the leader in the production of all kinds of varieties. In addition to these countries, tea bush is grown in Japan, Sri Lanka, Kenya and other countries. Tea is grown by almost all former English colonies. Russia, too, did not stand aside and, although no one believed in this before, but at the beginning of the 20th century, the first tea crop was harvested in Sochi. Since then, Sochi's tea plantations have continued to grow and expand. Today, their area is estimated in hundreds of hectares.
There are many ways to classify tea:
- by origin: Chinese, Ceylon, Indian, etc.
- by sheet type: whole-leaf, medium-grade, low-grade;
- by the method of mechanical processing: extracted, long leaf, pressed;
- by composition;
- according to the degree of fermentation.
This is not a complete classifier of varieties. Each item is further subdivided into several sub-items. But we are interested in what kind of tea can be grown at home. The plant should be suitable for growing in a pot and should not be too large. Most often in stores you can find Chinese camellia seeds or Chinese tea, as well as its various hybrids.
In general, you just have to ask yourself how to grow tea at home and you will see that shops offer seeds of tea bushes in large quantities. Most likely, you just never paid any attention to them. But on sale there are more than three hundred varieties of this plant specifically for home cultivation.
When choosing a variety, focus on both your taste preferences and the weather conditions in which you live - there is northern and southern tea. Northern tea or small-leaved is a more compact bush with small leaves. The southern one, on the contrary, is quite large, has a dense crown and large leaves.
Lighting requirements
Oddly enough it sounds, but not only the owners of large and bright apartments can think about how to grow tea. The tea bush is quite shade-tolerant and can feel great even on the floor. Of course, provided that he is not in absolute darkness and the sun's rays still fall on him.
Chinese camellia feels best on windows that look east and west, but does not like direct sunlight. In addition, the plant must be periodically turned to a light source. In the period of ovary buds and flowering, the bush, on the contrary, is strictly forbidden to move. Otherwise, he will drop the buds.
Temperature requirements
The ideal option is to place a tea bush for the winter in a room with a temperature regime of 8 to 12 degrees above zero. But if this is not possible, then the plant can overwinter at room temperature - for this it is necessary to increase the air humidity and adjust its care.
During growth, the plant feels comfortable at room temperature, if it does not exceed +25 degrees. But the strong heat, on the contrary, does not tolerate - it quickly dries and withers.
In summer, it is better to take the tea bush to fresh air, you can even dig it into the soil. The only condition is the night temperature - it should not fall below 13 degrees. At a temperature of +12, the tea bush must already be brought back into the room.
Care requirements
Before you think about how to grow tea, decide for yourself whether you can provide him with full care. It constantly requires care and attention, regular top dressing and proper pruning, instantly responds to both lack of watering and its oversupply. Fans of "cope" with this whimsical plant is quite difficult.
Watering requirements
Watering the tea bush is necessary often, but little by little and only after the topsoil has dried. At the slightest excess of moisture, the roots of the plant immediately rot. And with insufficient watering, tea begins to lose leaves.
When the process of bud formation begins, as well as during the flowering period, watering is slightly reduced, but the soil still should not be dry. In winter, the ground should be only slightly moist.
In addition to watering, you must regularly loosen the soil. You do not need to do this every watering, but, for example, make it a rule to loosen the upper soil layers every fourth to fifth watering. Be careful not to touch the roots of the plant.
In addition to periodic watering, the plant must constantly maintain high humidity. Tea bush does not tolerate placement near radiators or under conditioners. It must be constantly sprayed. An installation of an air humidifier near the plant is welcome. When spraying and watering, only soft and carefully purified water is used.
Feeding Requirements
The tea bush needs to be fed year-round, except when you were able to provide it with a cold winter. In the spring and summer months, they are fed every two to three weeks, and in the fall and with a warm wintering every five to six weeks.
Mineral fertilizers for the tea bush should include phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium. In this case, nitrogen should slightly dominate. Fertilizers acquire either universal or camellia. The use of organic fertilizers and derivatives thereof is permitted.
Cropping requirements
The main task of trimming is the formation of the most thick wide crown. Pruning is carried out regularly from the second year of life of the tea bush or when the plant reaches thirty cm in height. To do this, cut the upper shoot to 10-15 cm and wait for the growth of lateral shoots. If the growth is inactive, then pruning is enough to carry out once a year. When forming a bonsai, pruning is done as it grows. Make sure that pruning shoots that are damaged or weakened are removed first.
The most suitable pruning period is the dormant period, which falls in the winter months (November - February). This time is also suitable for plant transplantation.
Harvest Requirements
Harvest can be from bushes, which are four years old or older. Tea is harvested in the summer (May - September). In this case, you need to cut the kidney and two or three sheets under it, having a light color.
To get green tea, tea leaves must be doused with steam, wait for complete drying and leave to dry.
It will take more time to prepare black tea. The collected leaves must be scattered in the shade with a thin layer and dried until softened for 5-18 hours. After this, the leaves must be carefully twisted between the palms of the hands into tubes until a white foam appears. Then they must be fermented for 4–5 hours at a temperature of 20–23 degrees, laying in a layer of ten centimeters on a wet towel. When the leaves acquire a reddish-copper color and the aroma inherent in tea, it means that the fermentation process is over and it remains only to dry the tea leaves either in the oven or in the sun.
Conclusion
You can write a lot about how to grow tea at home. We tried to tell only the most basic aspects in order to give you direction for further movement. If you wish, then you can easily overpower this business and delight yourself in the morning with freshly brewed tea of your own production.