Tea Plants, Camellia sinensis, With Winter Approaching
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Fred
Posted on: October 02, 2012

I ordered some tea seeds (Camellia sinensis)back in December 2010. The good news is they are still alive! The better news is one of them is beginning to produce flower buds!! So what can I do to encourage the plant to flower / produce seed (e.g. what do I not do to make the plant drop its flower buds)? They are currently on my deck, morning sun, afternoon shade. With winter approaching, I know it is a matter of time before I need to relocate them back to the basement, but I’m afraid of shocking them. What do you suggest to do?

To reduce the shock, move the plants onto the north side of the house for a couple of weeks, before moving them to the basement. Make sure that you have the brightest lights you can afford, with the fairly new T5 and T12 tubes being reported to be an excellent choice for economy and brightness. If the grow-room is lined with plastic, you could also help the plants with a humidifier and in any case a fan.The fan should blow away from, or over the plants, not directly on them.

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