'Sochi' Tea - Camelia sinensis 'Sochi'

I decided to give this (potentially borderline for cold-hardiness) plant a chance and am glad I did. I planted it against the North side of the house because my thinking is... that more tender plants die from breaking dormancy too early than from mid-winter hardiness issues. On the North side of the house it gets cooler earlier in the Fall and stays cooler longer in the Spring. So, these overly eager types aren't as likely to be in active growth during cold snaps. It seems to be working. This tea plant had been through five winters and is still kicking. It tends to drop all of its foliage but hasn't really been suffering much if any dieback of twigs, and is getting big enough that I'm starting to pluck some tips for tea. I'll let you know how my first attempt to process into "black tea" goes. I included a close-up of one of the pretty little fragrant Fall flowers.