Having healthy tea plants can greatly impact your tea production. In order to maintain a healthy tea plant you must have a proper pruning regiment. Proper pruning starts with new growth and must be consistently maintained throughout the year.
How often should you prune your tea plants?
Pruning needs will vary depending on your growing conditions. Some tea plants may experience more growth in ideal growing conditions.
To maintain the tea plant health here at The Great Mississippi Tea Company we prune at least 3 times a year.
What happens if you do not prune your tea plants?
- You will have far less harvestable tea leaves.
- Your tea plant will grow scraggy and not bushy.
Can you fix a tea plant that has not been pruned properly?
Yes, you would have to cut back the tea plant. If you had 27 shoots, you would have to cut back the tea plant to about 12 inches tall and start your pruning cycle over. Note: A shoot is how many branches you have sticking up.
For every cut you get three new shoots. So if you started your pruning at 8 inches, from your 8 inches you will get three new shoots and then from those three shoots when you prune again you will have 9 new shoots etc. You are cutting it back to the height for the number of branches you have.
For the best visual direction watch our video below.
Need some help on how to prune a tea plant?
Visit our blog post with an in depth illustrated guide on how to prune tea plants.
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