I'm curious if anyone grows green teas in their greenhouse. I realize there are various types but is there one that would be suited for a small enclosure? What do they eat and how warm do they want to be? Bob
Bob I don't have a green house but I I've seen Camellia sinensis grown perfectly in greenhouse conditions. I have a few plants growing outdoors in z7. The coldest zone for this plant is usually given as the warmer parts of z6. It takes plenty of pruning and it is a super popular landscape plant so there is plenty of info available online.
off the topic of the post... philly is zone 6; not zone 7. although, you may have a microclimate at your location.
Easy Joclyn, Poetry has a southern garden Ahem, Philly is considered z7 on several hardiness maps including this one
i forgot to mention earlier...i'd love to grow my own tea!! finding plants is difficult, though. i've only found one site that offers it and their pricing is outrageous. i still question the zone 7 for philly - the map you reference is from the arborday foundation, not the government and clearly says it's their map, not the usda map. the usda map says philly area is zone 6b. even cape may is shown as 6b - although, microclimates are always possible. my experience has been that, where i am located, is definitely no higher than 6b. i've tried a couple zone 7 plants and they did not survive the winter - even during these past couple years where the winters were extremely mild.
Paul the article goes on to say that there are sub species or the plant that can be grown with specific outcomes wirh respect to flavour. The articles aslo goes on about processing the leaves in to varous product types apparently all from the same species. Thanks for the lead, I'm way behind onthelearnign curve on this one and it's more complex than I first imagined. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_tea#Other_green_teas Bob 2
In your question I thought it sounded as though you were inferring there are different plants used which I took the Wiki article to say otherwise. I reread the Wiki article (most of it) and it sounds like the one plant is used but the location it is grown in and the method of harvest is what changes the characteristics or 'type'. "Green tea is a type of tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis" says Wiki. Not a big deal :)
Paul, we're boh smarter now. I didn't know that all those "teas" came for one singular plant species. Wiki helped us out there. I read somewhere before I posed my original question that these plants vary from a nominal height of around 6 feet to an astounding 60 feet. I am hoping to find the smaller variety for my greenhouse. ;-) Bob
Like good wine, provenance is going to influence taste as much as variety will. And also like wine grapes (Vitus vinifera), Camellia sinensis comes in several varieties that can yield different tea characteristics.
Has anyone bumped into a variety called Sochi...supposed to be hardier than many? Growing up with a yard full of camellias (japonica and sasanqua tho) I definitely saw differences in hardiness between varieties in the same species.
I'm presently growing 4 'Sochi' plants, and have had them in the ground for 3 years now. Haven't had a spell of 10-20 year low temps. to deal with yet, but they've done very well in exposed positions throughout the garden. They're just about to flower now. I'd be wary of the particular hardiness attributed to this variety however. I think the bulk of the claim relates to Northwoods nursery in Oregon (for a time the sole outlet for this variety in N.A.) touting it as the "northernmost" variety of tea in the world. If you'll look at Sochi on a map, though, you'll see that it's climate is greatly influenced by the Black Sea, creating a distinct microclimate in an otherwise 'northerly' region.
i found some info that you'll all find interesting - and from an unusual spot, the american camellia society! http://www.camellias-acs.com/display.aspx?catid=3,20 lots of info - about tea in general, growing/harvesting it and some links to suppliers, too.
