Tea – evergreen plant from family Tea. Subtropics of India and China are considered as the homeland of this plant. There is shrubby kind of this plant three-four meters high and treelike. Tea of this version in tropics can grow to height of eighteen meters. Hardly at you similar will turn out to grow up something on windowsill, but the small tea-plant will serve as quite good addition to interior of your apartment. Plant breeders recommend in house conditions to grow up this plant from seeds.
It is required to you
- - tea seeds;
- - coniferous earth;
- - riding peat;
- - haydite;
- - liquid fertilizer for flowers.
Instruction
1. Tea is sowed to the earth at the end of winter or the beginning of spring. Before landing wet tea seeds for two three days in soft water of room temperature. Abrasive paper of seeds has to be dark brown, without visible damages.
2. Prepare soil for planting of seeds. On bottom of pot fill drainage layer, from above put layer of soil mix. The friable sour soil so you can use mix of the coniferous earth and riding peat or soil mix for cultivation of azaleas will be suitable for tea. Place seeds in the soil on depth of three-four centimeters.
3. Seeds will sprout within two-two and a half months. At some good luck you will see the first shoots in one and a half months after crops. All this time the soil in pot with seeds has to be damp.
4. In the spring and in the summer pots with tea can be exposed in garden or on balcony, turning to the sun the different parties. That the soil did not dry up, cover pot with moss or peat. It is better to water plant in the evening, and through each five-six waterings it is necessary to loosen the soil.
5. Before cold snap remove tea-plants to the house. For this plant temperature about ten-fifteen degrees is optimum. If in your apartment on is the suitable place with such temperature, also normal room will approach. From time to time spray bush with water, and for increase in humidity every day pour into pallet on half-glass clear water.
6. Time in half a year tea-plants it is recommended to feed up liquid fertilizer for flowers.
7. Two-year plants are recommended to be cut up to the height of thirty centimeters. In year repeat cutting, having truncated gain at the height about thirty five centimeters.
8. From three-year plant it is possible to try to reap the first crop of tea leaves. It can be done after leaves will grow after the second cutting, during the period from May to September. Height of plant has to be not less than forty centimeters. If the bush looks insufficiently strong, postpone collecting until the next year. If you, after all, have decided to collect tea leaves, choose several escapes with five leaves and pinch off from them two top leaflets together with kidney.
9. Four-year tea-plants should be replaced in pot of the bigger size. For landing use the same sour soil, as for crops of seeds.