Honeybush Tea – 10 Seeds

Honeybush Tea (Cyclopia genistoides) is a much-branched woody fynbos shrub with golden yellow stems that grows to about 1m in height. The short needle-like leaves are arranged along the branches and the plant produces sweetly scented, bright yellow pea-like flowers. Carpenter bees are attracted to the sweet smelling flowers and they are responsible for most of the pollination. The plant is is not considered to be self-fertile and the plant’s flowers are specifically structured to be pollinated by carpenter bees, which are generalist foragers and transfer pollen between different plants and populations. Therefore for seed production, more than one plant will be needed.

Traditionally, honeybush tea is made from Cyclopia genistoides, which occurs naturally on mountains in the Cape Peninsula. The tea, made from the shoots of the shrub, has a very low tannin content and contains no caffeine. The plant is also used in Traditional African Medicine.

To make the tea the stems and leaves are chopped into small pieces, wet and then left in heaps where they ferment spontaneously. The plant material may also be heated in an oven to about 60°C – 70°C to enhance the process. After sufficient fermentation, the tea is spread out in the sun to dry. After sifting, it is ready for use. Drinking honeybush tea is said to promote good health, stimulate the appetite and the milk flow in lactating mothers.

Common names: Common Honeybush-tea, Gewone Heuningbostee, Honeybush Tea, kustee, coastal tea and Cape tea.

Growing Honeybush Tea

Indoor Sowing: Summer and Autumn.

Direct Sowing: Summer and Autumn.

• The best time to sow seed is from summer to autumn.
• To increase the chance of germination, the seeds can be first treated with a smoke primer.  Alternatively, place the seeds for 20 seconds in boiling water, before planting the seeds. When the 20 seconds are over, the water is drained and the seeds planted.
• Fill a container with a well draining growing medium with a low pH of 3.5 to 5.
• The seeds should be planted about 1 cm below the soil surface.
• Keep the growing medium moist but not wet. To prevent damping off, a fungicide should be used.
• Germination can take up to two months or more.
• The young seedlings are potted up as soon as they are big enough to handle and grown on in the nursery before planting in the garden.
• Seedlings should be watered for the first two weeks. After that the plants are only watered in excessively dry conditions.
• Honeybush needs to be planted in full sun and well-drained sandy to sandy loam-type soil with a PH below 5.
• The plants are sensitive to severe frost.