Boh Plantation @ Cameron Highlands
Wednesday, June 24, 2009It was an awesome experience to see the big Boh Plantation at Sungei Palas, Cameron Highlands last weekend.
The plantation is situated on a hill more than 5,000 feet above sea level that has moderate temperatures, high altitude, abundant rainfall, long hours of sunshine and well-drained soil - the perfect environment for growing tea bush!
The evergreen tea bush grown there is botanically known as Camellia Sinensis. Camellia is the Latinised name of Rev. Georg Kamel who was a Czech-born botanist and a missionary to the Philippines. Sinensis means Chinese in Latin. The plant is culivated in tropical and subtropical regions and is native to mainland South and Southeast Asia.
They are grown and pruned to waist height for easy harvesting of tea leaves.
Tea harvesting is done every three weeks when new shoots grow.
The trail below leads visitors to the Boh Plantation's cafe, showroom and shop.
The scenery from the cafe is breathtaking.
From these tea bushes, three major types of tea are produced depending on how the leaf is processed. The three types of tea are black tea, oolong or red tea and green tea.
At the surrounding of the plantation, I found a number of interesting subtropical/tropical plants like Angel's Trumpet, Giant Star Potato Tree, Glory Bush, Agapanthus or African Blue Lily, Canna, Heliconia and Nasturtium.
I am definitely going to remember this magnificent plantation whenever I have a cup of tea ;-)
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17 comments
Wow - this is truly an amazing blog entry. I just learned so much about a plantation that I will remember each time I brew a cup of tea. I had no idea harvest was every 3 weeks. I thought I had it bad with running the tiller in my garden every 4 weeks to keep the weeds down. I can't imagine a harvest and all the work involved with that.
ReplyDeleteTHank you for visiting my blog . I wanted to let you know that the photos are put in collages using Picasa. Please read more about that FREE program at : http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=93773
Happy Summer - Can't wait to visit your delightful blog soon.
Steph, these are amazing photos! The highlands are really beautiful. As for the blooms...they made my heart beat faster!! The weather must be much cooler there. I can't imagine nasturtiums blooming at this time of the year (here). Loved your post!!
ReplyDeleteWow.. you really know a lot about plants. Glad you had a great time at the Boh Plantation! I loved it too... so breathtaking :) Your photos are really good too.. very skillful already!
ReplyDeleteReally magnificent pictures, Steph. The plantation is just heavenly. This place is certainly my cup of tea. Everything about this post is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSteph, regarding your comment on my blog - do you mean the cultivar Sarracenia Juthatip Soper? If so it's a complex hybrid (S. leucophylla x S. purpurea) x S. leucophylla. If this is your first carnivorous plant, or Sarracenia, you may have trouble keeping it alive. You're going to have to refrigerate the rhizome in winter or your plant will die. It absolutely needs a dormancy (cold, in this case). Lowland Nepenthes is a great choice for your area. Let me know how it goes. They are beautiful plants.
Steph, I love your photo composition of the Boh Plantation. Specially like the the one you took of the path up and the "sepia-ed" one. Got feel.... ;-) Definitely pays to go on a different path =)
ReplyDeletevery nice, reminds me of yunnan in south west china near myanmar and india, just better cultivated and better organised.
ReplyDeleteSteph - Thanks for sharing such a beautiful plantation view.
ReplyDeleteThis is the link about "Growing Tea at Home"
http://coffeetea.about.com/od/preparation/a/growingtea.htm
These photos are postcard quality..I love the first one...really BEAUTIFUL, Stephanie! I remember seeing a segment on tea leaves harvesting on the Food Network(?) not long ago. When and how to pick..it was very interesting. Looks like you had a wonderful time...we did!
ReplyDeleteLynn
Wow - the things you show us are wonderful! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSteph,
ReplyDeleteThe scenery is amazing there and those flowers are gorgeous and colorful! That blue lily agapanthus is my favorite... Can you grow that one in your garden? And you know nasturtium is a staple in my pots... Cheers!
Steph, it's not necessary to use ice with your Sarracenia. Growers of the Cobra Lily (Darlingtonia californica, a close relative to the Sarracenia) often use ice and ice water to simulate cold water running down from the mountains. It really needs cool roots. Not so with the Sarracenia. But it must be keep moist/wet during the summer growing season. So think cool roots - not icy roots.
ReplyDeleteAnother little hint: use a bigger pot than you think you'll need. This will keep the roots from getting really hot, and that's beneficial. Also make sure that you only use Sphagnum peat moss. Sometimes the package says Peat Moss and it's sedge peat or something else. It must say "sphagnum." You can also use perlite to add aeration for the roots.
When your days start to get shorter and shorter, this will be the time to pack up your rhizome and put it in the refrigerator.
Steph, some growers have had success with using coconut fiber for their Sarracenias. For some, it has been a disaster. The problem is the salt content in the coconut fiber. Some brands are labeled "low sodium" and would be worth a try. If not, make sure you rinse the stuff really, really well. Are you using a pot with drainage?
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the world of carnivorous plants!
the sight of massive green is definitely refreshing and relaxing. really good to get away from the city once in a while. :)
ReplyDeletesigh -wish I can go there someday.
ReplyDeleteDear Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI wish I can quickly find my time & visit Cameron Highland soon!
by Jenny Eshjey
Your pictures are most beautiful! What a magical place!!
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie, What fun to see tea bushes, as I'm off to make another cup of tea. Also saw one of our Agapanthus in there.
ReplyDelete