Proper tea garden management is truly critical. Good management not only boosts yield, but also improves quality year after year. When managed poorly, a sudden decline in a tea garden is far from rare. Over the past few years, the store manager has witnessed cases of failed tea garden management in Lishan, Alishan, Cingjing, and LongFengXia.
A recent case occurred in Lishan. The garden had always boasted exceptional quality and yield, but a few years ago, the land lease expired, and the landowner took it back to manage the tea plants themselves. Unfortunately, due to improper management, the tea garden experienced a rapid decline within two to three years. Annual production plummeted from 1,200 kg to less than 60 kg, and vast swathes of tea plants died.
The manager suspects the landowner either couldn’t reach an agreement on a rent hike or decided to take it back to cash in on the high prices of Lishan tea themselves. To their surprise, poor management killed off more than half the tea plants in just two years. Even if they replant now, it will take six to seven years to restore production. Not only did they lose millions in rent and miss out on tea profits, but they will also have to spend heavily on remediation—a classic case of penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Don’t assume that tea plants just need basic watering and fertilizing. Incorrect fertilizer ratios, improper irrigation, poor ventilation, and frost damage can all cause serious loss. Because every tea garden has different terrain, orientation, and hydrology, textbook management cannot be applied universally. That’s why tea garden management should be left to the professionals, specifically local managers who know the area.
The picture shows the Lishan case, with parts blurred to avoid stepping on any toes. The left side is the tea garden reclaimed by the landowner. You can see the stark difference in growth between the left and right sides (which were originally identical). This case clearly shows just how vital proper tea garden management is.