Hello. Im new to this forum but found it through google search trying to find info to grow sochi. I noticed someone in here mentioned it so I was wondering how much you might know. I live in central Missouri and winter is coming upon us and temps are getting to 10-20 degrees at night. I have them growing in 5 gallon buckets with a good acidic soil mix and a quilt tied around em. I dont have any way of bringing them inside my small place of living and the barn I keep them in at nights isnt temp controled. They still have healthy stems and green leaves but the leaves are starting to turn a little yellow. Is this normal for tea plants to lose leaves during winter? I thought they were evergreens. Thanks for your help
Central Missouri USDA Zone 6 is too cold for Camellia sinensis (zone 7 or warmer) and WAY too cold for a plant who's roots are in a container. Covering the top won't have any effect except to exclude light the plant needs.
Your best option is to grow it as a house/greenhous plant; as saltcedar has already noted, it's not hardy in your zone outdoors. The 'Sochi' strain is considered amongst the hardiest, being advertised as the 'northernmost commercially grown tea variety' as it's grown in Sochi, Russia. However, if you look on a map, Sochi is on the Black Sea, with palms and other marginal plants grown in the region, so it is in fact a very mild location...quite unlike the typical image that comes to mind when one hears about a tea variety that can be grown in Russia.....
Thank you for your help. The quilt isnt around the plants, its around the buckets the plants are in. I may be able to bring them in but Im not to sure the only place that has enough room where they wont get knocked over is around my wood stove, I could set them maybe 3ft away from it. My place is at max only 300 sq ft. If I constructed a little green house around them what would I need to keep them warm? Just use a wall mounted electric heater with a thermostat? Also to maybe you guys could clear something up for me, I read on another website that Im suppose to water little during winter and let the plants stay dry, what do you recommend here?
You won't be able to get them to make it unless it is a cool and humid situation with bright light and no freezing of the roots.
If you can attach a simple greenhouse structure to the side of your place--nothing fancy, just some 2x4's (or pvc pipe anchored on rebar and bent to the house wall)--you might pull it off by taking advantage of the ambient heat radiating from the house to keep the plants in their zone. It's surprising how many extra degrees you gain from being attached to a wall of the house. It's not tropical by any means, but might be just enough to keep them going until later Spring. Bury the pots in woodchips while you're at it.
Ok, I never thought of attaching it to the side of a house, thank you for mentioning that. There is even a small window on the wall the stove is against I could put it against so if I needed more warm air in the greenhouse I could open the window, I usually have it open anyways to cool it off in here. You guys have been a big help, all the sites I find info on say different info then the other and they all act like since its so hardy its a breeze to take care of
Gift them to someone who can provide the proper growing conditions, with luck you'll get a harvest from that person.
I wouldnt have anyone to give them too, Im a very recluse person and dont communicate much with people but close family (parents and sister). My sister has a 14 month old to take care of and wouldnt find much time for them (though Im sure my nephew would). Hopefully they will survive through winter in a green house. My folks have some vapor barrier I could use to construct one. Right now they are just sitting here by my wood stove with a humidifier by them and a fan to keep heat build up away.
Go for it. The vapour barrier will suffice. If you have enough, build two layers with an air space between to hold the heat longer. The window you mention seems ideally placed to direct warm air into the greenhouse, so it seems like a fine idea regardless: whether or not the tea works out, you'll find the space amenable to growing a bunch of things. If they appear to be happy there, you might eventually plant them directly into the ground in the greenhouse.... Good luck with it.
Another question, should I mist the tea plant? Some plants Ive found I can mist then others Ive read I should keep the leaves dry. How does it go for tea?
