Camellia sinensis - growing from seed?

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goofybulb Richland, MI(Zone 5b) Feb 18, 2009

Hello, all!

I just purchased some Camellia sinensis seeds, hoping to grow a tea plant. Do any of you have advice for me?
Thank you,
Alexandra

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goofybulb Richland, MI(Zone 5b) Feb 24, 2009

bump!

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gooley Hawthorne, FL(Zone 8b) Feb 26, 2009

The fresher the seeds, the better. Consider dusting them with fungicide, such as 50% wettable Captan powder. Well-draining seed-starting mix, watered regularly so that it doesn't dry out, in containers with enough drainage holes. That's what I'd try, because my attempts were all hit with fungi and the seeds rotted before they could sprout.

I wonder whether there is some sort of camellia society website with information about germinating the seeds...

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goofybulb Richland, MI(Zone 5b) Feb 26, 2009

Thanks a bunch, gooley, for taking the time to answer, and thanks for the advice! I soaked the seeds overnight in water plus a bit of H2O2 (hope it didn't hurt). I will follow your advice from this point on!

Hugs,
Alexandra

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phfurballs Mississauga, ON(Zone 6a) Mar 21, 2009

Don't know if you'll see this or not, but there are some places online with good germination advice for Tea seeds. Richters herbs is one that sells them and provides some info on germination. Another site I found was at the Back Yard Gardener, on their propagation page. No membership required to see it, and there is tons of great information on all kinds of seeds there. At the following URL, I also found information on growing tea, it's downloadable PDF, from an Extension service in Hawaii. check this URL.
w.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/scm-17.pdf

Fungus can be a nasty problem with any seed growing efforts. I find using a fan, running it all the time, [oscillating type is good], helps tremendously,, maybe more than any other single thing you can do. Also there is a fungicide, if you want to try it, called No Damp, mixes in the water and you water it in. Helps with prevention and treatment.

A weak solution of hydrogen peroxide, or one tsp. baking soda in a quart of warm water, will do in existing fungal infections, and are non toxic in these concentrations. The peroxide you'd mix by using half 3% peroxide, from the drugstore, and half water. It's actually good for the roots, adds oxygen!

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