How to grow tea at home

Tea is an evergreen plant of the Tea family. The birthplace of this plant are considered to be the subtropics of India and China. There is a shrub variety of this plant with a height of three to four meters and a tree. Tea this species in the tropics can grow to a height of eighteen meters. It is unlikely that you will be able to grow something like that on the windowsill, but a small tea Bush will be a good addition to the interior of your apartment. Growers are recommended to grow this plant from seed.

You will need

• - seed tea;
• - coniferous land;
• - peat;
• - expanded clay;
• - liquid fertilizer for flowers.

Instruction

1. Tea sown in the ground in late winter or early spring. Before planting soak seeds in tea for two or three days in soft water at room temperature. The skin of the seeds should be dark brown, with no visible damage.
2. Prepare the soil for planting seeds. On the bottom of the pot, pour a layer of drainage, put a layer of soil mixture. Tea will fit loose acidic soil, so you can use a mixture of pine land and peat or soil mix for growing azaleas. Place the seeds in soil to a depth of three to four centimeters.
3. Seeds will germinate within two to two and a half months. If you are lucky you will see the first shoots already six weeks after planting. All this time the soil in the pot with the seeds should be moist.
4. In the spring and summer pots of tea can be put in the garden or on the balcony, turning to the sun different sides. So that the soil doesn't dry out, cover the pot with moss or peat. Watering in the evening, and after every five to six irrigation should loosen the soil.
5. Before cold remove the tea bushes to the house. For this plant the optimum temperature is about ten to fifteen degrees. If your apartment is to find a suitable location with a temperature, and fit a normal room. From time to time spray the hive with water, and in the pan to increase humidity every day pour half a Cup of clean water.
6. Every six months, the tea bushes is recommended to feed with liquid fertilizer for flowers.
7. Biennial plants it is recommended to prune to a height of thirty centimeters. After a year, repeat pruning by shortening the growth to a height of about thirty-five centimeters.
8. Three plants you can try to gather the first harvest of tea leaves. This can be done after the leaves grow back after the second cropping, in the period from may to September. Plant height shall be not less than forty centimeters. If Bush looks strong enough to delay the harvest until next year. If you still decided to collect the tea leaves, select a few shoots with five leaves and take with them the top two leaves together with the kidney.
9. Four year old tea bushes should be transplanted into a larger pot. For planting, use the same acidic soil as for seeding.