The Camellia Gardener Blog — Grow Tea

Camellia sinensis is susceptible to a few insects that can cause slight to severe damage.   The most common are Tea Scale, Aphids and Mites.   The good news is that you don't have to use harmful insecticides to control your pest problem, there are safe alternatives. Horticultural Oils Oil sprays are great ways to control the most common insects on Camellia sinensis.  They work through the suffocation of the insects.  The key is to get complete thorough coverage of the entire plant.  Heavy infestations may require several repeat applications.  Periodic use of oil sprays can work as a preventative for future...

Camellia sinensis can be successfully grown in containers as long as you follow some guidelines!   The most important thing to remember about Camellia sinensis Tea Plants is that they will absolutely not tolerate wet soils or soils that do not drain properly.  Make sure you pay close attention to the recommendations we have for potting soils. Growing in Containers—tips Choose a container that is about twice as large as the root mass of your plant. AVOID containers that are too large or you could have uneven water and nutrient distribution which could lead to trouble with your plant. Keep...

Caemllias and Tea Plants, like to be moist but not wet.  They do not need to be dry, and they especially do not need to be wet. Tea is more sensitive to very wet conditions than most other species of camellias, and Tea Plants can’t survive if the conditions are very wet. The easiest and most common way to kill Tea plants is to keep them too wet. Whether the Tea Plants are in the ground or in containers, if the soil retains too much water, your Tea Plants are going to die and die quickly. We can’t emphasize this...