Tea Plant

Caring for your Tea Plant is very straight forward...

• Water plants frequently during the first two years – generally two or three times a week during summer, using rainwater whenever possible.
• Your plant will fall dormant during winter, but in spring will burst to life, when you can start picking the freshest young leaves.
• Prune back to 3 to 4 feet every few years to keep the plant bushy and producing fresh leaves.
• Traditionally, the uppermost leaf buds on each stem are picked, although you may want to try with some of the older leaves or even stems and see how the flavour varies.
• Protect plants from cold, dry winds and early morning sun and water in dry weather to prevent bud drop. Apply a balanced liquid fertiliser in mid-spring and again in June, plus mulch annually with shredded bark or well-rotted leaf mould.
• Protect container-grown Tea Plants in winter by wrapping with bubble wrap or hessian.
• For the first two or three years during the winter, we suggest either bringing your plant indoors or protecting it from prolonged or sharp frosts with horticultural fleece.

Please allow us 3-5 working days to dispatch your order. Pre-ordered items will be sent as soon as possible after the date quoted and we'll generally ship your entire order with your pre-ordered items. When your order is dispatched, we'll send you another email with details of how to track it.

Most orders are sent on a fully-tracked courier service with Yodel. To avoid perishable items being stuck at depots and deteriorating, no signature is required, and our courier is asked to leave your order in a safe place on your property.

We'll send a tracking link when we dispatch your order, so you know when its due to arrive. Please note, once delivered we cannot be held responsible for loss or theft from your property. If you have any specific delivery instructions, please let us know - there's an option to enter a short message for the courier at the checkout.

Smaller, lighter, single-item orders may be sent through the post with Royal Mail - in which case no tracking is available.

Our experienced nursery team will always send your plants nursery fresh in the perfect condition to thrive when you plant them, so although most plants are very tough and will not be affected by all but the most extreme frosts or heatwaves, we avoid dispatching the most perishable plants if extreme weather is forecast, or over Bank Holiday weekends.

Please note, we cannot guarantee delivery on a certain day or time. Delivery to outlying postcode areas may take 1-2 days longer, dependent on your location.