Making sure your plants have adequate nutrition will provide you with healthy plants! There are many options when choosing what to feed your camellia sinensis.
Natural - Organic Fertilizers
Natural fertilizers are usually the best choice when it comes to feeding your tea plants. There are many things on the market that you can use that will give your plants proper nutrient levels.
Some natural liquid fertilizers, fish emulsions, and compost teas are all good ideas when it comes to feeding. HollyTone is a granular product made of natural ingredients and is formulated for acid loving plants. Tea plants will love it.
Synthetic Fertilizers
Widely available on the market are many types of liquid, granular or timed release fertilizers. We caution you when using these fertilizers to make sure that you are using the right type for your plant. For example, you wouldn't want to use formulations for Roses on your Camellias.
Timed Released fertilizers can damage plants in the event of temperature spikes or drought. Many timed release fertilizers tend to release more active ingredients as the soil and air temperature increases. This must be balanced out with adequate water to make sure there is not a buildup of salts.
Granular and timed released fertilizers used on very young plants can damage the young root systems by putting out too much salt. If you must use these types of fertilizers on your plants, make sure you are using the correct dosage.
Synthetic fertilizers are not considered "natural" so if you're on the 'organic fence' it's best to use some other products that are labeled as organic
Don't Forget To Mulch
In a forest setting, which is the natural habitat for Camellias, they grow well in a rich organic soil. The natural mulch from trees and plants provide excellent opportunity for nutrients and beneficial bacteria to get back into the soil. Mulch plays a huge part of the overall healthy of tea plants in addition to added fertilizer.
Summary
Your plant will tell you when it is lacking in nutrients. Yellowing foliage and stunted poor growth are all scions of nutrient deficiency. The trick is to keep your plants well fed and hydrated so they won't show signs of trouble.