Key points for growing oil tea (Camellia oleifera) include site selection and planting, plus later management.

Oil tea (Camellia oleifera) is an evergreen small tree in the genus Camellia of the family Theaceae, and it is an important woody oil tree species in southern China. The tea oil pressed from its seeds is fragrant and keeps well, has high nutritional value, and has long been praised as "Oriental olive oil." Oil tea can be planted once and harvested for many years, and its management is relatively labor-saving, making it very suitable for development in hilly and mountainous areas.

To grow oil tea, the first step is to choose a good site. It prefers a warm, humid climate and is afraid of severe cold and windy gaps, and it is suitable for growing on slightly acidic red soil or yellow soil with deep soil layers and good drainage; low-lying waterlogged land and saline-alkali land are not suitable for planting. When choosing a site, it should be arranged as much as possible on sunny gentle slopes to make later management and harvesting easier.

Planting is mostly carried out in early spring or after rain in autumn and winter. Strong seedlings of superior varieties should be selected, and holes should be dug at a reasonable spacing between plants and rows, with sufficient base fertilizer applied. During the young forest stage, weed control, topdressing, and soil and water conservation should be done well, and green manure can also be interplanted to improve the soil. After the forest is established, pruning and reclamation should be strengthened to keep the canopy ventilated and light-permeable, and attention should be paid to preventing and controlling common diseases and pests such as anthracnose and soft rot.

Oil tea blooms in autumn, and its fruit matures in the autumn of the following year, with flowers and fruit appearing at the same time, which consumes a relatively large amount of nutrients. Therefore, timely fertilization after fruit harvesting is especially important. In addition to being used for food, tea oil can also be used in industries such as daily chemicals, and tea shells and tea meal can also be comprehensively utilized. In recent years, many mountainous areas have taken oil tea as a characteristic industry for increasing income and becoming prosperous, and oil tea seedlings are also often used as rootstock for grafting camellias, so the planting prospects are very broad.