Camellia sinensis, the drinkable camellia

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Southerners love their camellias, the fall blooming and less showy sasanquas followed by the stunning camellia japonicas. Another member of the camellias genera is tea – like the tea thrown over board during the Boston Tea Party. The scientific name is Camellia sinensis and it’s easily grown here if you want to harvest tender young leaves and have your own home-grown tea. The flowers aren’t spectacular but attractive to bees – lots of pollen. Unlike it’s more glamorous cousins, it grows well in full sun, fortunately, as tea plantations need lots of leaves. Here in South Carolina, we have two tea companies, one in Charleston and one in Rock Hill, where tea is grown and processed. You can even take a tour and learn how to grow and then process your own tea.