Green tea/ Black tea seeds, Camellia sinensis, 2 sizes
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$9.25
$9.25 - $14.95
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Camellia sinensis is a tall shrub or small tree grown to produce leaves for the popular stimulant beverage called tea. Both black and green teas come from these plants (black tea being fermented or aged green tea leaves).
It can grow up to 50 feet high if not pruned. Fresh leaves contain about 3-4% caffeine at best. Its leaves are bright green and shiny. The plant has proved to be hardy, surviving snow and winter temperatures to about 19˚F. They are slow-growing and produce white flowers in the autumn.
C. sinensis contains natural antioxidants.
Germination from tea seeds is traditionally low, as low as 10-15%. In China, most plants are propagated via rooted cuttings.
See below for growing directions.
China.
It can grow up to 50 feet high if not pruned. Fresh leaves contain about 3-4% caffeine at best. Its leaves are bright green and shiny. The plant has proved to be hardy, surviving snow and winter temperatures to about 19˚F. They are slow-growing and produce white flowers in the autumn.
C. sinensis contains natural antioxidants.
Germination from tea seeds is traditionally low, as low as 10-15%. In China, most plants are propagated via rooted cuttings.
See below for growing directions.
China.
Growing Directions;
- Keep seeds refrigerated until you plant.
- Soak seeds for 36 hours.
- Put cactus mix into shallow flats with drain holes and both excellent drainage and moisture retention. Or use a two-to-one mix of peat moss and perlite.
- Spread a single layer of seeds evenly onto the soil medium. Do not cover the seeds with the medium; just leave them on the soil surface, as if they fell there.
- Next, place your soil-and-seed trays in a space that receives partial sun. Protect from frost and heat.
- Mist or spray the seeds with water on a regular schedule. The challenge here is that you don’t want the seeds to desiccate, nor do you want the seeds to stay water-saturated. Fungal infections are the enemy of tea seeds so keep an eye on moisture levels and fungus.
- In order for the tea seed to germinate, the tough outer coat has to first crack open. Alternating periods of hydrating and drying cause the seed coat to expand and contract. In turn, little cracks are formed which allows water to be absorbed by the developing embryo. As the embryonic tissue grows, it forces open ever wider cracks.
- It might take several weeks, perhaps even two months, for your seeds to show any cracks.
- If no cracks appear after the first ten days or so, repeat the soaking procedure and start over.
- The final step is to plant cracked seeds in potting trays.
- Use commercial cactus mix. Or use a 50-50 mix of bark fines and perlite.
- Next, look closely at the cracked seed. You will notice that there is a light-colored eyespot on the seed coat. Most of the time, the crack will run through the eyespot. Position the seed on its side so that the eyespot is parallel to the surface of the soil.
- Now, cover the seed with more potting medium, leaving about a quarter-inch of depth for coarse vermiculite as a topping.
- Water as needed to keep the soil damp, but not soggy. Depending on ambient temperatures, you will have to wait between two weeks to a month for your seeds to sprout.
- Once they sprout move them into one gallon pots in morning sun with PM shade. Tea bushes have a deep tap root. Once they seem established, they can go into the ground.