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Any tips for growing tea plants from seed? (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 months ago by to c/gardening@lemmy.world
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I hear growing tea plants can be quite challenging. Looks like I have 6 attempts to figure it out…

I've started by mixing some coffee grounds and some conifer fertilizer into my potting mix in an attempt to lower the pH value. A short pH test says it's still at around 6.0, though, which might still be too high. I'm considering putting a few drops of vinegar into the watering can to lower it even further.

BTW, those are some surprisingly large seeds for that plant.

Update:
After putting them into a glass of water, I found that all six of them float to the top, which some Internet sites tell me means they're not good any more. I will keep on trying, though, because I'm stubborn, but I also did go ahead and order some new seeds from a different vendor.

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[–] 6 points 3 months ago

I have no advice to offer (sorry), but if I was high enough I would try to eat that seed thinking it was a chocolate candy. Good luck I'll keep an eye out for any updates if you post them.

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    [–] 8 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Given the labeling, I would not plant it and destroy it with fire.

    International seed law and phytosanitary requirements require specific labeling. This includes a lot, germination, and some others depending on the location. If it was shipped internationally, it also requires a phytosanitary certificate for most species and countries.

    Online seed sellers are constantly violating these rules and spreading all sorts of diseases, weeds and insects.

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  • [–] [S] 9 points 3 months ago

    They were technically shipped internationally, but it was within the EU. The appropriate websites by my own government tell me I don't need a phytosanitary certificate in this case.

    Though, to be honest, none of this would have even crossed my mind if you hadn't pointed it out.

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    • [–] 3 points 3 months ago

    No recommendations here other than online advice. I believe we have a Russian version of that plant or a similar tea plant that absolutely loves our 9b region. It's become a voracious bush and needs to be whacked back yearly, or it will overtake the other plants in the garden bed.

    Also, those seeds look like chocolate drops and I have an overwhelming urge to put them in my mouth, lol.

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    [–] 3 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    @waigl yes put them in a tropical climate but do not water too much

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 3 months ago* (1 child)

    Well, I've only got the climate right here to work with, which is very much not tropical… but I suppose I can just bring them inside once it gets a bit chilly.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago

    It's not all that hard. Most my plants are tropical and Kansas is far from that. Just water appropriately, make sure they get their sun, and during the cold season you can either water and mist them or keep them in an aquarium to keep humidity up.

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    • [–] 3 points 3 months ago

    Ive done it once. Soaked the seeds for 72 hours first. That helped a lot.

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    [–] 5 points 3 months ago

    It's possible, but it is TRICKY. Most nurseries propagate via cuttings because of this. I tried to find a non-slop guide that is close to how I've done it before, and this is as close as I could find.

    The one thing I see missing there is stratifying for 60 days prior to planting, and making sure the seed hills crack a bit after soaking.

    Once planted, I'd keep them in a hothouse environment, which you can achieve by just putting plastic wrap over the starter seed bed, and keeping near a sunny window indoors.

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    [–] 2 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    If you do manage to get it growing, make sure you post pictures! I wanna see a baby tea tree.

    And make sure you do regular updates on the 6 month, 1 year, 3 year, 5 year, 10 year, 25 year, 50 year and 100 year milestones!

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    • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (8 children)

    @waigl What seeds are you going to plant

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 3 months ago (7 children)

    The ones in the picture there. Camellia Sinensis.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (6 children)

    @waigl That's great do you also grow foods crops

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 3 months ago (5 children)

    Sure, tomatoes, peppers, basil, carrots, garlic, lettuce…

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (4 children)

    @waigl Ooh that's great. But what's basil . Here we also grow tomatoes and lettuce and sometimes carrots, garlic.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 3 months ago* (3 children)

    But what’s basil .

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil

    A plant that sees heavy use in Italian cuisine, for pasta sauces, pizzas and pestos.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (1 child)

    @waigl So what methods do you use

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 3 months ago

    So what methods do you use

    For basil? Nothing special. Fill a 12cm pot with standard potting mix, sprinkle some basil seeds on top, top that up with a very thin layer of fine soil (minus the larger particles), water, place on window sill, wait. Once they start sprouting, I like to remove a few sprouts to keep it to maybe 2 to 3 plants per pot. No need to repot basil, but you may want to repeat the process every other month if you want a steady supply. I found that basil grows much bigger and stronger outside in the sun than on the window sill, but unless you need a lot, that's not really necessary.

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    • [–] 1 point 3 months ago

    I see the flowering version all over the PNW, climate 8, so there must be a variety of the tea plant that wouuld thrive in non-tropical weather. Did you choose a certain variety? Maybe your local university would have something on it too:

    https://vegetables.wsu.edu/documents/2025/07/growing-tea-in-the-pacific-northwest-care-and-maintenance.pdf/

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