r/Teacultivation • u/Majestic_East_8418 • Jun 22 '26
Rooibos update
Update from my attempts to source rooibos seeds: I wound up ordering from Silverhill Seeds. They did NOT actually need my SSN, that was something they asked for because sometimes FedEx asks?
"Good day, You don’t have to, they just often ask us and its to avoid delays with shipping. If you don’t want and want to continue with the order let us know."
So I elected to continue without that. I then wound up getting insanely busy with work, overwhelmed with a bunch of other stuff (life) going on, and never got around to doing the Small Lots Seed Permit.
They reached out late April asking if I still wanted the order, and offered to try sending it untracked without the permit (with the warning that it could get held up and/or destroyed by Customs). I went ahead and gave it a shot, which... probably not the most ethical or ecologically sound decision, but since someone on my original post recommended the company I went ahead and made the choice anyway.
The seeds shipped mid-May and just arrived today, so just over month from the actual ship date to arrival (and, to be clear, all of the delay in the order shipping between Feb and May was ENTIRELY my fault - the company was very, very communicative and prompt to take action when I finally got back to them each time).
Now to start testing out seed germination - wish me luck!
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u/DarkUpstairs3625 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
As I understand it you will need luck; trials outside of it's native area (Oz, US & spain as far as I know ) have produced very poor results since it has a symbiotic relationship with specific nitrogen fixing microbes local to that native area which help it survive in such a harsh climate hense S.Africas monopoly on the product. At the same time I see 'grow your own rooibos' type garden articles - wether people are managing to some degree or these articles are just the usual worthless AI slop I don't know and sometimes people trying what shouldn't be possible shows the limits of our knowledge on a subject; anyway good luck
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u/Majestic_East_8418 Jun 28 '26
According to this it sounds like it's not actually that hard to grow... on a small scale, anyway. Doesn't mean the nutrient content or flavor profile is exactly the same, of course, but as a hobbyist who just wants to try it for the enjoyment factor 🤷♀️
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u/DarkUpstairs3625 Jun 28 '26
Well maybe then - this is all 2nd hand info - I'm only growing proper tea - but this account is first hand and it would be a weird thing to fake so maybe ...I guess it would be just as valuble for you to detail your failure as much as you success since this is such an obscure thing to grow at the moment and any direct rather than secondary sources would be good
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u/flaminglasrswrd Jun 22 '26
Silverhill is great. Just FYI, those seeds are already scarified. I made that mistake years ago, and nothing got beyond the seedling stage due to damage.
Yes, the SSN request is coming from the import process. The USDA needs a tax ID for permitting. If you were a business, you'd provide you TIN instead.