What to Do When the Leaves of a Potted Tea Plant at Home Turn Yellow? A Plant Care Expert Teaches You a Few Tricks

Our country has had the habit of drinking tea since ancient times, and tea plants are also grown over a fairly wide area. Many friends who love growing flowers and plants even turn tea plants into potted plants. So what should you do when the leaves of a potted tea plant at home turn yellow? See what a plant care expert does!

1. Introduction to the tea plant

1. The tea plant is a shrub or small tree and likes to grow in warm, humid regions. It can live for one or two hundred years, and in the tropics, tree-type tea plants can even live for over a thousand years.

2. The leaves of the tea plant are oblong or elliptical. The sun-facing side of the leaf is glossy and shiny, while some have fine hairs on the underside. It blooms white flowers from August to December each year and bears fruit in October and November of the following year. Its fruit is spherical, and each sphere contains one or two seeds.

3. The tea plant is a plant native to China, and was later spread around the world after Jianzhen's voyages eastward. Besides being harvested for tea leaves, there are also camellias specially cultivated as garden varieties.

2. What to do when the leaves of a potted tea plant turn yellow

There are many reasons why the leaves of a potted tea plant turn yellow, and if you want to solve the problem, you first need to figure out the specific cause. Only once you have found the cause can you accurately “prescribe the right remedy”. Let's see how Mr. Liu, a plant care expert in Changsha, Hunan, does it.

1. Yellowing tea plant leaves caused by soil that is too acidic or too alkaline: the tea plant is suited to growing in sandy loam with good drainage and good aeration, and the pH value is best kept between 4.5-6.5, so soil that is too acidic or too alkaline will both cause the leaves to turn yellow and drop off.

Solution: Regularly change the soil for the potted tea plant so that it grows in soil with a suitable pH value.

2. Yellowing tea plant leaves caused by too little or too much watering: the tea plant is a moisture-loving plant and likes to grow in regions with evenly distributed rainfall and an annual rainfall of 1500 mm. If watered too much, it easily causes root rot and the leaves turn yellow; if watered too little, there is not enough water, causing the leaves to dry out and turn yellow.

Solution: The amount of water must be controlled well, neither too much nor too little. Water whenever the soil in the pot is almost dry, and be sure to water thoroughly. Keep the air around the pot humid. On fine days, you can spray water on the leaves every one or two days, and at other times decide as appropriate.

3. Yellowing tea plant leaves caused by too little or too much fertilizer: applying an appropriate amount of fertilizer can promote the growth of the tea plant, but if there is not enough fertilizer, the leaves do not get enough nutrients and easily turn yellow; in addition, too much fertilizer easily burns the roots and causes the leaves to turn yellow.

Solution: If there is not enough fertilizer, appropriately increase the amount of fertilizer applied; if there is too much fertilizer, it depends on the situation. In mild cases, you can flush with water to dilute the fertilizer in the soil; in serious cases, you can only change the soil and the pot. Generally, the tea plant should follow the principle of applying light fertilizer frequently, applying acidic fertilizer about once a month. You can use special fertilizer bought from the market, or well-rotted rice washing water.

4. Yellowing tea plant leaves caused by insufficient light and exposure to the sun: appropriate light is also indispensable for the tea plant to grow well. Long periods of insufficient light affect photosynthesis, and exposure to the sun is also one of the reasons that easily cause the leaves to turn yellow.

Solution: Give the potted tea plant appropriate light. Move pots that cannot get sunlight to a balcony or other place with sufficient light. In summer, be careful to shade the potted tea plant to avoid the sun scorching the leaves.

5. Invasion by pests and diseases is also one of the reasons for the yellowing of the leaves of a potted tea plant. Different pesticides should be applied for different pests and diseases, and attention should be paid to light and ventilation.

The above is an introduction to some of the causes of and solutions for yellowing leaves in potted tea plants. I hope it can help you!