Hello, danrobjon. The browned leaves sound like a lack of moisture problem. Here in Texas, I keep the soil moist and well mulched & the plants shaded (starting at 10-11am) throughout our 100-110F summers and experience no leaf brown outs. Maintain an appropriate watering schedule and resist the temptation to water just based on the temperatures. Check the soil moisture daily by inserting a finger to a depth of four inches and see how the soil feels: dry, moist or wet. If it feels dry or almost dry then water deeply. Otherwise, leaves watering for another day. You will soon notice yourself watering on a certain schedule (say, every two/three/four days). At that point, then set the sprinkler to water the plants on that schedule. If the temperatures go up/down 10-15 degrees, check daily again to see if your schedule needs tweaking or if you need to increase the amount of water that they get. Remember that this works both ways. You should reduce the amt of water when fall brings moderating temperatures. The problem we have during the summer months is actually that of watering too much. We feel the heat and want to give the plants a break so we water. Watering frequently causes the soil to be wet too often. If the soil remains wet for a long time because of lots of rain or drainage issues, the roots can develop root rot. By checking the soil manually and only watering when the soil begins to feel almost dry then you prevent root rot. Your plants may have dried out a little and this caused some leaves to brown out. However, from your description it looks as if they have recovered. Keep them shaded during the hot afternoon sun, keep them well mulched with 3-4" of acidic mulch and keep the soil moist (not wet). Do not fertilize them when they are stressed. The partly browned leaves will stay on until it is time to shed leaves. When this happened to me once during winter (yes, you should water then too if your soil does not freeze), I left those leaves on until the plant shed them on its own. Others prune them for aesthetic reasons. Does this help you, danrobjon? Good luck, Luis

I have been growing both for about 8 years. I am at about 900' in north Clark County so we get quite cold, It has definitely been through 8 degree weather. Yes, they are evergreen. Yes, deer love to nibble the tiny new leaves!!!!!! The white flowered one appears to be the stronger of the 2 for me. It is sturdier. Flowers often ruined by frost. Seem to be slow growing even when not pruned by deer. Can't discern any difference in tea produced. I know both One Green World and Nichols Garden Nursery carry them Both can be googled. Both sell mail order. jwww

I just had 100% germination by Mar. 24 from last years seed sown Mar. 17th: Thai Hot, Habenero and Fairy Tale Eggplant (completely germinated by Mar. 21). I used one of those large strawberry plastic containers that is complete with air vents and is 11x8" 4" deep. I taped all the vents up, closed the lid and let it go at room temp. Since it is deep enough and seeds are well spaced I can let them grow on until too crowded. By that time it should be nice enough to pot up and start hardening them off. I should also mention that as soon as the eggplant popped up I removed the tape from the vents in the lid to allow air flow...the Hab's and Thai's begin to germ by Mar. 22 and were done in 2 days. Now the lid is completely open and in my South facing window. Vera

Tea = Camellia sinensis, available at independent garden centers in suitable climates and soils. Green tea is a processing approach, not a particular kind of tea plant.