Anyone Growing Tea?

[natsgarden123]

Anyone here in Florida growing tea?

[gunnar429]

I was wondering about it just the other day.  I love green tea but wonder how many plants I would actually need to make it feasible...and if I can find the space over other hard-to-get fruits

[fyliu]

I heard tea quality gets better as the plants age and extend their roots. 100 year old plants would make really good tea. I don't know what percentage of the population would taste the difference.
Did you see the commercial where the guy was showing off the tea plants and then he picks the most tender shoot? The message was he gets them while they'really young. And that's pretty much the part that makes the good tea. Yellow shoots are sweeter. Older greener leaves will be bitter.

[cos]

Tea makes a very nice hedge & one that gives you incentive to trim it.

[TriangleJohn]

I have some in my Raleigh, NC garden (zone 7b) which I believe is about the northern edge of their range. They grow very slow and are otherwise pretty tough. I think the best spots for them were along the coast in South Carolina - there used to be large tea plantations there and I believe one is still in existence.

[Coconut]

They were slow & sickly for me here in Palm Beach; thriving only during our cooler months.  I end up growing the Yerba Mate plant instead which does very well here.  Same caffein kick for me & starting to shoot some flowers.  The tea has a big seed & it took a while to sprout, I think it does better in humid mountainous highland than our costal humid sand dune or coquina rock of South Florida.

[Patrick]

They were slow & sickly for me here in Palm Beach; thriving only during our cooler months.  I end up growing the Yerba Mate plant instead which does very well here.  Same caffein kick for me & starting to shoot some flowers.  The tea has a big seed & it took a while to sprout, I think it does better in humid mountainous highland than our costal humid sand dune or coquina rock of South Florida.

Same here, tea just didn't want to do it! My wife made up a cup of tea out of the whole plant.  Much cheaper to buy tea!

[EvilFruit]

They were slow & sickly for me here in Palm Beach; thriving only during our cooler months.  I end up growing the Yerba Mate plant instead which does very well here.  Same caffein kick for me & starting to shoot some flowers.  The tea has a big seed & it took a while to sprout, I think it does better in humid mountainous highland than our costal humid sand dune or coquina rock of South Florida.

Coconut

Do you have any experience to grow Yerba Mate from seed ?.

[gunnar429]

They were slow & sickly for me here in Palm Beach; thriving only during our cooler months.  I end up growing the Yerba Mate plant instead which does very well here.  Same caffein kick for me & starting to shoot some flowers.  The tea has a big seed & it took a while to sprout, I think it does better in humid mountainous highland than our costal humid sand dune or coquina rock of South Florida.

Same here, tea just didn't want to do it! My wife made up a cup of tea out of the whole plant.  Much cheaper to buy tea!

LOL, one plant per serving size....not too bad! 

[Future]

I bought seeds for both tea and Yerba mate but none germinated.  Apparently short viability. 

[natsgarden123]

Thanks for the input- looks like tea is going to stay out of my garden

[Coconut]

Evilfruit Yerba Mate is related to holly & yes they germinate fresher with fresh seeds. After that they practically a weedy shrub, as you can see my flower this year.




[/urll

I grew them in shade to keep it under control in a pot.  I suspect they suckers a lot, I am going to increase their number to get an adequate supply for my morning cup!!

[gunnar429]

how many do you suppose is an adequate number?  just curious.

[EvilFruit]

Evilfruit Yerba Mate is related to holly & yes they germinate fresher with fresh seeds. After that they practically a weedy shrub, as you can see my flower this year.




[/urll

I grew them in shade to keep it under control in a pot.  I suspect they suckers a lot, I am going to increase their number to get an adequate supply for my morning cup!!

Thanks for posting your Yerba mate plant.

There are two other Ilex species used in similar way; Ilex vomitoria and Ilex guayusa. Ilex vomitoria is native to Florida and southeast of the USA, did you try to make a brew out of it ?.

Mohd

[gunnar429]

vomitoria is now on my NO WAY list....along with dysenterica!  definitely not plant marketers that thought of the name!

[bsbullie]

Ilex vomitoria is commonly used a a xeriscape landscape plant in Florida.   I dont think I would recommend trying to make tea out of it.

[palmtreeluke]

I grow camellia sinensis, green tea. and camellia sinensis var. assamica from India

they grow good for me in Tallahassee, FL as most camellias do wonderful there. the flower with tiny white flowers.


they are slow but steady. never tried to make tea with them yet as they are still about 2 ft tall. I ordered seeds both from China and India to try to compare them, so far not much difference.


I just brought some down to SW FL I suspect they will not grow as well here(too hot and not as good of a climate and sandy soil)

[BMc]

I've just put in a bit of Jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum). I'll be interested to see if it makes a good green tea on its own, or if its better used as an additive to normal green teas...

[shah8]

Keep in mind that there are different varietals of sinensis, and taliensis, etc.  Some even have landscape implications, like purple leafed varietals that have been planted in many areas of the world.

I'd want to try to get my hands on either puerh tea bush from the northern area (I'm in Atlanta and puerh is fairly subtropical), or try to raid some of the really nice varietals that the Taiwanese ag people have developed over recent years.

Camelia japonica can be made into bad tea I believe, and from random googling, I presume it doesn't make worse tea than any tea you'd make at home regardless of varietal or species.

[fruitlovers]

There are small tea plantations on this island. They mostly grow gourmet tea = very high priced. They are all located at higher elevations, starting at 3000 ft. on up where it is cool and cloudy a lot. Tea plants will grow where i live (600 ft. elevation) but tea needs cooler clime to be high quality. It's not a tropical crop.
I am growing several trees of yerba mate. One of them is about 16 years old and about 25 feet tall. Yerba mate does very well in tropical climates, and would be much better suited for southern Florida than tea plants. BTW, yerba mate is very easy to propagate from air layers.

[EvilFruit]

Never mind 

[polux]

how many do you suppose is an adequate number?  just curious.

Are you sure that it is Ilex paraguaiensis? I have this plant but it seems more like Caseenah (Ilex cassine)... It grows wild in Fl...

[keiserv5596]

Tea plants are relatively easy to grow year-round, as long as they are in a warm and humid environment. To successfully grow tea, you will need high-quality soil that drains well and is rich in organic matter. Tea plants prefer sandy or loamy soil with a slightly acidic pH ranging between 5.0 and 6.5. You should also provide ample sunlight — at least four hours per day — as well as nutrient-rich fertilizer to give the plant an extra boost of nutrients. When planting tea, it is important to dig a hole twice the size of the container or root ball of your tea plant. It should also be watered regularly to keep the roots moist but not soggy, typically once every five to seven days while allowing the soil to dry out between waterings. Additionally, pruning should be done regularly, if necessary, taking care not to remove more than one-third of the leaves at one time. Tea plants can also benefit from being mulched in order to trap moisture around their roots and help them retain warmth during cooler weather periods. If grown properly under ideal conditions, tea plants can produce buds for harvesting within about three years after planting.

[pinkturtle]

Does anyone have Camellia sinensis cuttings for sell?
I heard Camellia sinensis is very easy root by cutting.

[FloridaManDan]

Pink Turtle,

I will send you a message, I have a spare tea plant.

Otherwise to anyone looking for a good tea plant to grow down in south Florida, my Guayusa (Ilex guayusa) has been thriving beneath my larger plants, particularly my kwai muk and bananas; good balance of shade, cooler temps, and light. They have been very vigorous.
Haven't tried taking cuttings yet but my understanding is they are pretty easy to root.

[RS]

Yaupon holly makes great tea and grows well here in central FL: https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/trees-and-shrubs/shrubs/yaupon-holly-tea.html 
The scientific name, ilex vomitoria, is unfortunate.

Yaupon teahouse sells several different blends if anyone wants to try first. I grow nana variety for this purpose. It's native, cold/drought tolerant and easy to grow.

[FloridaManDan]

Thats awesome, just read up on the Yaupon Holly as a tea plant. Used to see this on a rare occasion working for the Forest Service in AL, thought it made a beautiful ornamental.
Surprised that its on par with Guayusa and Yerba Mate in terms of tea quality, antioxidants, etc.

If anyone has a small plant or a handful of Yaupon cuttings, I'd be glad to trade.

[Tortuga]

I’ve been growing camellia sinensis in a pot for about 4 years starting from a cutting. It’s a small but stout bush now. It is true they grow slow but are pretty hardy. It’s a plant I can skip watering and fertilizing from time to time. I have used older leaves to make green tea and it was bitter so I’ll try the young shoots next time.

[Tortuga]

Thats awesome, just read up on the Yaupon Holly as a tea plant. Used to see this on a rare occasion working for the Forest Service in AL, thought it made a beautiful ornamental.
Surprised that its on par with Guayusa and Yerba Mate in terms of tea quality, antioxidants, etc.

If anyone has a small plant or a handful of Yaupon cuttings, I'd be glad to trade.

I have 6 large bushes in front of my house that I’ve trimmed into globes; one getting larger than the next so they look like stepping stones. They actually need trimming so I’d be up for a trade.

I’ve never processed my own yaupon holly because of its Latin name and minimal research. Someone show me the way

[Plantinyum]

Anyone using camelia sasanqua as a tea plant? I have one potted one, havent used it for a tea, well i used the flowers several times. The leaves smell very nice , especially the new growth .

[CarolinaZone]

Camelia sinensis here is zone 7 NC. I have three growing outside close to my house. I have never had a problem with them coming through the freezes we have here. They have been in ground about 8 years. They are small shrubs.

[RS]

I’ve never processed my own yaupon holly because of its Latin name and minimal research. Someone show me the way

So there's lots of variation in how it can be prepared, some people use just the leaves (it's pretty easy to strip off the leaves), some use the leaves plus small twigs.

Can be fresh/green, roasted, or blended. One roasted recipe is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEyrXzP-K6k

I've only made it from my yard once (still have a lot of tea from yaupon teahouse). Used a 1940 recipe for half green leaves and half lightly roasted, put in the oven at 250 for about 10 minutes. It can be fun to experiment!

[Stomata]

Yaupon holly/ ilex vomitoria is one of my favorite drinks. in my opinion it far outshines any mate i have tried (though never had that fresh). Yaupon gets a bad rap due to the vomitoria epithet. This is in relation to its use in purging rituals. It was traded widely throughout north american by the native americans, it has been found as far as new mexico and st louis (cahokia). it was also a major drink in SE US used by european settlers and their descendents. Don't let the name turn you of!! Extremely easy to grow, no pest issues i have ever seen.
 Roasted yaupon holly makes a delicous, almost chocolately flavored beverage. The heating also makes the caffeine more bioavailable.

[Galatians522]

Good to know! Its my understanding, by the way, that most cafinated beverages would make you puke if you drank them at the concentration and in the quantities that were used at the green corn festival. Put another way, if you didn't puke after drinking half a gallon of espresso, you would wish that you had...Lol!