Tea plants are a variety of Camellia trees. Camellia Sinensis to be exact. An evergreen shrub that provides beautiful white flowers in the winter months and an evergreen look all year long. Grown primarily in the hilly mountains of East Asia, more recently becoming very popular to grow in Washington State. This one tea plant can give you all the different varieties of tea (white, green, black, oolong, and matcha), all depending on how you process the leaves after harvesting.
These are some of the easiest plants to grow because they love our climate. They do need acidic soil with a pH of 4.5-6, part shade, plenty of good rainfall, and protection from cold winter winds. You can plant them 18-36 inches apart, allowing you to create a living hedge as they grow together. It will take about 3 years before you get a good hedge and a large harvest, worth the wait. The first two years, prune frequently to encourage more side branching, eventually giving you more growth tips for harvesting lots of leaves. You will also want to water 2-3 times a week, the first two years of its life, to ensure it develops a good root system. After year 3, your plant should be summer heat-tolerant with just occasional watering needed.
Harvesting usually happens in the early spring through summer. If you harvest and dry right away, that is pretty much your white tea. Green tea requires a little bit of wilting, steaming, and rolling. Oolong undergoes longer wilting, steaming, and slight bruising of the leaves. Black tea requires the longest wilting time and bruising time, and some are even fermented for a stronger flavor. There are lots of great techniques out there to help you get started with making your own tea at home.
Find more Urban Gnomestead @urbangnomestead and at free monthly garden talk 1-3 p.m., June 28 at Ridgeline Brewing in Bremerton. This month’s topic: Kale/Collards
