It is entirely possible to grow the tropical tea plant, Camellia Sinensis to survive in southern freezes. It is most commonly grown in zones 7 - 10 but with some plants growing outside of that zone. Our zone in Brookhaven, Mississippi is a Zone 8b. If you don't know what growing zone you are in for North America quickly go here first. Over the years we have learned a lot about successfully growing tea plants in the unpredictable weather conditions of the South. Temperatures here in the winter months can get into the 20's (-6c) and it does occasionally dip even below that. The coldest day on record in Mississippi is -19F (-28C) experienced in 1966. Now, we did not have tea...
Every fall we collect a large number of seed pods from the tea plants to process them for spring. Starting new plants from seeds is the best way to develop new tea plants as they will develop a long tap root. Tea cuttings will create new plants, but they will not establish the long taproot. The longer the tap root the more drought tolerant the plant is and with every tea plant being an investment of time and product, it is important to develop the healthiest of plants. Tea plant seeds start out with a very tough outer shell. We will collect a large number of tea seeds and then set them out in the sun for a period of time...