Quick Answer Tea plants can produce small harvests within 2–3 years, but they generally require about 5 years to reach full production. During those first few years, the plant focuses on developing a strong root system and healthy branching rather than producing large quantities of harvestable leaves. At The Great Mississippi Tea Company, we've experienced this firsthand. Growing tea is a long-term investment, but the patience pays off with healthier plants and exceptional tea for decades to come. Good Tea Takes Time When people think about tea, they often picture a steaming cup. What they don't see is the years of care that go into producing those leaves. Unlike many annual crops that are planted and harvested in the same...
We recently expanded the number of Tetraploid tea plants on the tea farm but it took some perseverance to get here. We have a section of tetraploid plants that never got planted because we ran out of plants 8 years ago. For our expansion, we needed cuttings and it couldn't just be filled with any old tea plant. We contracted someone 3 years in a row to root cuttings for us (not the same person each year). It was not able to come to fruition. We lost 6 years to that process. 2 years ago, we did our first batch of large scale cuttings ourselves and it was successful. We are putting them out this year and filling in a major...
Over the years we have had to master getting our tea seeds to germinate. The below process has worked for us consistently throughout the years and should help you grow new tea plants from seed. Steps to getting your tea seeds to germinate. Plant the seeds in a container, you will need to place them half way in, half way out of the soil. Wet down the soil and cover with something like plastic wrap. The seeds need to be kept in a warm place while they germinate. If you notice the soil drying up, add more water. The goal is to keep them consistently moist but not soggy. Note: Tea seeds do not require light to germinate Can...
USA tea farmer owner Jason McDonald, shares with us what they have learned about the crucial balance for feeding tea plants Nitrogen to get a quality cup of tea while remaining sustainable.
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...
