Tea plants require pruning every five or ten years

If you want your tea plant to produce plenty of leaves, you need to take good care of it. Every five or ten years, for example, it will require pruning to a greater or lesser extent, to keep the plant in healthy condition. If it requires « hard” pruning, the main stems of the bush are cut back in the autumn to around 10 cm off the ground. It’s quite a sight to behold on a large scale: everything is grey and appears burnt, as if fire has ravaged the mountainside.  It looks quite depressing. But a few months later, the plants are bursting with life again as their beautiful pale green shoots herald the arrival of spring.