Green Tea Plant

The Green Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis) is the real thing: every green, black and oolong tea in the cupboard is picked from this one species. It makes a dense evergreen shrub about 2m tall and 1.5m wide, with small scented white flowers through the cooler months, and it works as a productive hedge you can crop by hand.

Why you'll love it

• You can actually make tea from it. The young tips are the picking material, and how you treat them decides whether you get green, black or oolong.
• A hedge that earns its keep. At 2m by 1.5m it forms a proper evergreen screen, so the crop and the boundary are the same plant.
• Hardier than most camellias. Frost hardy, wind tolerant and humidity tolerant, which widens where it will grow.
• Scented white flowers. Small and lightly fragrant through the cooler months, and steadily worked by bees.
• Low maintenance. Regular picking is the pruning, so a plant in use rarely needs anything else.

Where it works best

Productive hedging. Plant 1m apart in a single row. A pack of six covers a 5m run, and picking the tips regularly keeps the hedge dense from the base up.

Screening and privacy. A 2m evergreen wall suits a side boundary, a courtyard divider or a screen in front of a fence.

Pots and feature planting. A container 500mm or wider keeps it nearer 1.5m and puts the picking within arm's reach of a back door.

Growing the green tea plant in Australia

Position and climate. Partial shade is ideal, particularly morning sun with protection from afternoon heat, though it takes full sun in cooler districts. It suits subtropical, warm temperate and cool temperate gardens and is frost hardy once established, so southern gardens are well within range. Hot dry inland conditions are the harder ask.

Soil. Slightly acidic, free draining soil with plenty of compost, the same conditions any camellia wants. Alkaline soils cause yellowing between the leaf veins, so use an acidic mix in containers and mulch 75mm deep.

Water and feed. Keep the soil evenly moist through the first two summers and water consistently afterwards, since dry spells make the new tips small and tough. Feed an azalea and camellia fertiliser in early spring and after the main flush.

Pruning and picking. Pick the top two leaves and the bud from each new shoot through the growing season. That is both the harvest and the pruning. Give the hedge a light trim in early spring to even it up.

What to expect when it arrives

The green tea plant is sold as tube stock and as a 200mm pack of six. Tubes are young single stemmed plants, the sensible buy for a long hedge if you can wait a season or two. The 200mm plants are branched and established, and six plant a 5m run straight away.

Camellias travel well, with firm leaves that hold moisture, though a few older leaves may yellow and drop in the first week. Expect roots to move within four to six weeks, a picking worth having in the second or third year, and a closed hedge in about three seasons. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• A practical guide to growing camellias
• Browse the full camellia range
• Compare other edible plants
• See the best hedging plants

Common questions

How do I actually make tea from it?

Pick the bud and the top two leaves from each new shoot. Steaming or pan drying them straight away gives green tea, while bruising and letting them oxidise before drying gives black tea.

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

One metre apart in a single row. Each plant reaches about 1.5m across, so a metre gives enough overlap to close the hedge while leaving room to pick along the row.

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

Treat it as unsafe. The leaves contain caffeine, which is toxic to cats and dogs, so keep pets away from the foliage and from picked leaves drying.