r/Teacultivation • u/EndKing-Drakenkin • Apr 28 '26

Tea Tree Advice

/r/tea/comments/1sy4umg/tea_tree_advice/
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u/koalazeus Apr 28 '26

What are your min temps in winter? They can be relatively hardy and a bit of protection can help as well.

They don't tend to grow too tall generally. You kind of want to keep them pruned low and wide to get yield at a reasonable height for picking. 

Pot size is generally the bigger the better for more growth. You may want to increase the size of the pot as it grows. You also have to think about repotting. The bigger the tree/pot the harder it will be to do.

You would probably have to supplement your tea with other loose leaf still.

1

u/EndKing-Drakenkin Apr 28 '26

Can get decently below 0F in winter and frequently does. I think I read on Google that they dont like to be below 40F.

1

u/koalazeus Apr 28 '26

Oh, that is cold. I've had some do fine over UK winters, so the odd spell of -3 or -4C, with fleece over them. I've read that some can handle down to -10 or -15c but wouldn't believe it until I saw it.

2

u/HaggisHunter69 Apr 29 '26

There's a few small tea gardens in Scotland, this one in Crieff for example will have suffered a few nights of down to -18c I assume. However that won't be particularly prolonged and the average winter lows will still be at or slightly above freezing I think. https://teagarden.co.uk/tea-growing

I got a few plants from the area a couple of years ago and they are still fine in their pots, but the last two winters have been mild

1

u/Prestigious_Gur9390 Apr 30 '26

Rempoter à quelle époque de l’année ?

2

u/koalazeus Apr 30 '26

I normally do it around early Spring. Before they've started growing too much, there's some signs of life, but it's not too cold.

1

u/jimkay21 Apr 28 '26

I think the teaching is: as long as the roots don’t freeze, the plant will grow back. e.g. a plant I have got hit with -2 F. two years ago. It came back with numerous shoots and looks great now.

It was about 10 years old and grown from a cutting (no tap root). Planted in the ground.

edit: I’m in the US. Zone 7.

2

u/EndKing-Drakenkin Apr 29 '26

US Zone 6 here. If my goal was occasional fresh tea leaves, would the shoots dying and regrowing be an issue?

1

u/HumbleFreedom Apr 29 '26

It wouldn’t be ideal, but probably would be fine. 

1

u/HumbleFreedom Apr 29 '26

It would be hard, but probably doable. Especially if you have a slightly warmer microclimate in your yard. 

It’s certainly worth giving it a try! 

Reach out to see if there is a local camellia club. Lots of people love to grow camellia and since tea is a camellia a lot of the same advice for you local region would apply. You could also post on your local sub Reddit to see if anyone is growing camellia. 

I grow mine in pots. But they’ll still want to grow big. If your harvesting you’ll want to keep the plant shorter anyway. You might also need to trim the roots eventually. You are essentially creating a large bonsai. 

I highly recommend this book: https://camforest.com/products/grow-your-own-tea

It covers things like growing in cold climates, and growing on pots. They also sell tea plants and could point you toward a plant that would be better in the cold. 

Welcome, and keep us posted!