Tea Time for Master Gardeners

Master Gardeners ask the darndest questions and at last night's training class I got a good one that got me to thinking.  Can we grow tea plants here in Indiana?  I had never thought about that.  We wondered whether it was even legal or if there were some sort of USDA restrictions on the plant.

Well, it turns out that Camellia sinensis var. sinensis is grown in the US and people can grow their own tea.  The plant is hardy in Zones 7-9 which rules out outdoor planting, but not growing it as a container or houseplant.  After reading the cultural info, I suspect that an indoor tea growing experience will be riddled with pests and diseases, but what's the fun in not trying.  An excellent page with cultural information from the University of Florida Extension is a good place to start.  After reading I decided that it would be best to start from cuttings rather than seed for a container grown plant due to the root structure.  A potted specimen could be treated in the same way as other tropicals that we grow outdoors during the summer, then bring in for the winter.  Or it could be grown exclusively in a sunroom or attached greenhouse setting in the home.  Just be mindful of it's minimum and maximum temperature requirements and watch out for those pesky spider mites.

There are probably some online sources for cuttings, but since Camellia sinensis is sold as an ornamental plant in Zone 7 and up areas, a trip to a nursery might be the easiest way to go.  For those who want a real challenge there were several sites with seed for sale.  I didn't follow any of them to get the details, but I do know that seed is viable for only a short period of time.

A quick reminder for those of you who do plant research online.  I always recommend using the university websites as your first line of accurate information.  Those are the .edu sites.  My next resource is sites maintained by the societies or organizations supporting a particular species which are typically .org sites.  When considering information from a commercial or .com site you should always cross reference with a .edu or .org.

The University of Delaware page about Camellia sinensis was also good information.  And even Purdue University has a technical paper about the plant.  So there you go brave, young Master Gardeners is Zone 5.  Your challenge is before you.  I'll be over for tea this afternoon.

American Daffodil Society Convention

What a show!  This was my first national show to attend and the display and range of daffodil cultivars was fantastic.  There were 2079 total stems in the show for judging including 549 miniatures.  Ironstone Vineyards was a superb host for the event and they are now going to become a designated ADS display garden.  Their dispaly of daffodils inth e ground and various containers was extremely impressive.  They have planted several tons of daffodils over the years along with thousands of other landscape plants to create a wonderful garden to visit.  It really is way more than just a garden, though.

Miniature daffodils are a fairly new thing for me.  I have seen a few, but the variety at the show was phenomenal.  One that always gets lots of buzz is 'Itsy Bitsy Splitsy' which a split cup  with blooms no more than an inch across.  It is registered as an 11a Y-O which means division 11a with yellow petals and an orange cup which is split in this case.  Very interesting effect.

To get an idea of how small the miniatures are, I asked a gentleman to hold his finger next to one for size reference.  The one shown wasn't even the smallest.  I can't be sure, but I do know there were some on display that were less than 1/2" across.  I did not get the name of this particular specimen.  If you are interested in growing miniatures I was told that Brent and Becky's Bulbs carries a nice selection suitable for the home gardener.  They would also be suitable for competition at your local daffodil show.  Visit the ADS website for more information about a Daffodil Society near you.

I will post some more info about the show, Ironstone, and Murphys, California later.  But for now it is sunny and I gotta get outside!

Daffodil Time!

I leave Thursday for the American Daffodil Society National Convention held this year in Murphys, California. Check out the links to the Ironstone Vineyards and the Ironstone Gardens blog maintained by Larry Ringland.  The photo above is from his blog and I assume was taken by him.  He has a fantastic slide show of blooms from other springs at the vineyard.  The national daffodil show and our conference will be set there. 

These past couple of weeks have been filled with snow management, preparing for the Indianapolis Home and Flower Show where the Indiana Daffodil Society had an educational booth, and preparing for GardenFest our county Master Gardener annual show.  Whew!  I was also down with a virus for a few days.  Fortunately that was during lousy weather.  There is almost nothing worse for a gardener that having a nasty, hang-on, feel like crap virus just when the weather gets nice enough to work outside.