Tea (camellia sinensis)

[Pastdep]

Over the years, I became pretty comfortable with container gardening but my only experience has been in vegetables and herbs. Shrubs are new to me, and as my first venture into them, I would like to try a tea plant (camellia). Because of my living situation being studio-apartment-only for close to the next year, I don't have a choice but to try it in a container. I do have a couple large windows, and get plenty of sunlight. I have heard of some doing this successfully, but was not able to find a whole lot of information about how exactly to care for a shrub grown in a container. How would caring for a plant like this differ from doing so for a vegetable generally?

I am also curious if the wizards of shrubs can tell me about transplanting. Although containers are the near future, I had in mind to set the plant outside in a few years when I have my own outdoor space (presuming I am then in a suitable zone). I have heard these shrubs can live a few decades, but I'm not sure if it will get upset by being inside for a couple years, then set out. What do you think?

Also, I will be attempting to begin from a seed, which has always been my preference for plants of any kind. The retailer provides information on scarification, but also provides information on stratification. Are both necessary? As I understand it, if I follow the instructions to scarify the seeds they should be ready to germinate. If it isn't important to strat-before-scar, is there any advantage to doing so anyways?

 

[davidrt28]

Camellias (which are what tea shrubs are) are not easy to keep as conventional houseplants. They need a cool period and will dislike the dry air of a house being heated for winter. Maybe you are somewhere in the south or along the west coast where you can leave the container on a patio, but you don't seem to indicate that. Sorry I can't offer much more, maybe someone will come along who's tried something like this and had success. As for sourcing various tea plants, I'd recommend Camellia Forest Nursery in NC. The owner might know of a more suitable cultivar for what you are trying...it's possible a variety from somewhere in the warmest areas of tea cultivation like Sri Lanka might be more accepting of a houseplant regime.