Are you also dreaming of your own coffee from your own four walls? It's not easy with your own coffee plant, but it's possible.
Coffee actually grows in the tropics, but the plant can also thrive here. With the right site conditions and proper care, it is even possible to harvest coffee cherries and extract the beans. Here we show what a suitable location looks like and what you should consider when planting.
Coffee plant: flower, origin and properties
The coffee plant (Coffea) is not only something for coffee lovers, because it can convince with its flowers and leaves alone. Today it is widespread in almost all tropical and subtropical regions of the world and belongs to the blushing family (Rubiaceae). There, coffee is grown on plantations because it is an economically highly important crop. In nature, the coffee plant grows into trees up to 8 meters high. However, if you want to keep coffee as a houseplant, you have to be content with a maximum size of 2 meters.
Coffee has quite large, oval, pointed leaves with a shiny surface and a wavy edge. The coffee plant blossoms in April and May. These are found in clusters in the leaf axils. They are white and smell pleasantly of jasmine. However, it takes two to four years for a coffee plant to flower for the first time, depending on whether the plant was grown from a cutting or seed. After successful pollination, the fruits form at this point, which are recognizable as green, later red coffee cherries. It takes a whole year for the coffee berries to turn red to dark purple, i.e. until they are ripe. Under good climatic conditions, the fruits in the growing regions can be ripe after just nine months.
From this point on, the coffee plant can be harvested. Inside the berries are two seeds, the coffee beans. They are initially light brown or white and only becomedark brown due to later roasting. Roasting is a common processing step in order to then grind the coffee seeds and brew them into the well-known beverage. Due to the caffeine it contains, coffee wakes us up, often brightens the mood and has therefore become a popular luxury food. With the right care of the coffee plant and a bit of luck, you can also harvest your own coffee plant.
Tip: With long-term and constant exposure to light, the coffee plant even bears flowers and fruits all year round. In our latitudes, however, this would only be possible with an enormous amount of energy for intensive lighting.
Types and varieties of coffee plants
Of the approximately 124 different Coffea species, the most prominent are Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora , also called "Robusta", economically important. They are also often offered as indoor plants.
- Coffea arabica: This species is known as highland coffee, so it grows in nature in higher regions above 1000 meters altitude. The species is self-pollinating, making it ideal for trying your hand at growing your own coffee beans.
- Coffea arabica 'Nana': You can often find the dwarf coffee bush in the trade, as it remains quite small at around 150 cm and grows compact.
- Coffea canephora: The speciesis better known under the name Coffea robusta Coffea canephora. It is a lowland coffee that tolerates slightly warmer temperatures and higher humidity. However, this species should not stand at temperatures above 30 °C either.
- Coffea liberica: This species can also be kept as a houseplant, but is rarely offered. The leaves are slightly lighter than the other two species and it tends to have a slightly wilder and messier appearance.
Plant coffee
While enjoying a delicious cup of coffee you have probably asked yourself: Can you actually grow coffee plants yourself? That's fine. And the pose isn't even particularly difficult. You can grow a coffee plant from seeds or cuttings, or buy a ready-made small plant from stores.
The right location for the coffee plant
Coffee actually grows in the high altitudes of the tropics and requires the same conditions here as well. For this reason, theCoffee plant kept in a pot and may only be placed outside in summer where it prefers a shady spot. In winter, the coffee plant needs a location in the home that is bright, warm and humid. It doesn't do well in direct sunlight, so an east or west window with a few hours of sunshine in the morning or evening is better. The temperature should be around 20 to 25 °C all year round and should not fluctuate if possible. Even in winter, the temperature must not fall below 15 °C. High humidity is also important for a he althy coffee plant. You can achieve this, for example, by regularly spraying the leaves or by placing the pot of the coffee plant in a shallow bowl with water and expanded clay.
It is also possible to keep coffee plants in jars, which can either be bought ready-made or you can create them yourself. For such a bottle garden you need a tightly closing jar, for example a mason jar, in which a layer of expanded clay is placed for drainage. This is followed by a layer of substrate and then the coffee plant. The rest of the soil is covered with living moss. Now everything is well moistened, but not soaked. Close the jar and put it in a bright place out of direct sun.
For a Kokedama coffee plant, i.e. a coffee tree in a ball of moss, one part peat is mixed with one part clay and everything is moistened well so that the mixture can be shaped, but is not mushy. Then take a small coffee plant from its old substrate and dip the root ball in water. The root ball is now covered with the peat-loam mixture and everything is carefully pressed down. Now you will need a large, dry sheet of moss, which you will drape around the globe and tie with twine until secure. Such a kokedama is a real eye-catcher and can be hung up with the help of the thread. For irrigation, the moss ball is then simply sprayed with water from the outside.
The coffee plant in hydroculture is another way of keeping it. The plant is in expanded clay and is supplied with a nutrient solution via a planter. Hydroponics is very simple and ensures good humidity on the plant, but it can also be classified as environmentally harmful. Because in hydroponics come inUsually mineral fertilizers are used, sustainable, primarily organic fertilizers such as our Plantura organic fertilizers cannot be used. Therefore, we generally do not recommend hydroponics.
Tip: All alternative methods also contribute to automatically increasing the humidity around the coffee plant.
What soil does the coffee plant need?
If you want to grow the coffee plant in soil, you need above all a permeable substrate. The soil should be slightly acidic, rich in nutrients, with little peat and lots of humus. These requirements are met, for example, by our peat-free Plantura organic potting soil, which has a high proportion of organic matter and can store water well without becoming waterlogged. For even better drainage, mix the soil with 30% expanded clay or sand.
Tip: The soil should be covered with a layer of mulch to ensure constant soil moisture. This means that less water can evaporate from the ground. For example, slightly acidic pine bark such as our Plantura organic pine bark is suitable, which comes from low-emission cultivation and is therefore more environmentally friendly than conventional bark mulch.
Coffee plant as a houseplant
If the coffee plant is kept as a houseplant, the main thing to pay attention to is drainage, but at the same time regular water supply. Waterlogging is not tolerated by coffee and can lead to root rot. Choose a deep pot so that the roots have enough space. A drainage layer of stones or expanded clay at the bottom of the pot prevents the coffee plant from standing in water. The substrate mixture, in which the coffee is planted, is then placed on top of the drainage layer. In order to cover the enormous water requirements of the coffee plant, it is best to water it daily so that the substrate is always moist but never water-saturated.
In order to be able to harvest fruit from the houseplant, you also need a little help pollinating the flowers. Coffea arabica is self-pollinating, but a little help never hurts. To do this, simply grab a fine brush and carefully rotate each blossom with it.
Last but not least, a sufficiently high level of humidity must be ensured, which is usually achieved automatically in bright bathrooms. Living rooms, on the other hand, are often too dry for the coffee plant.
Can you keep the coffee tree outside?
ImIn summer, the coffee tree can be placed outside. It needs a sheltered place in the semi-shade, preferably under a larger plant, and should also be sprayed with water here from time to time. However, if it gets colder than 15 °C at night, it is better to bring the coffee plant back inside.
Propagation
There are two ways to propagate your coffee plant. If you already have a plant, cuttings are ideal. Propagation via seeds can be done from your own seeds or from purchased seeds. However, the seeds must be fresh, as their germination capacity decreases quickly and disappears completely after about two months. Of course, even roasted coffee beans are no longer germinable.
Propagation by seeds
In order for the coffee beans to become a plant, the seeds must first be soaked in water for about 24 hours. This should have a temperature of around 25 to 30 °C. A thermos flask can be used for this, for example. For sowing, a planter is filled with potting soil, for example with our Plantura organic herb and seed soil. Our organic soil consists of natural ingredients and does not require any peat at all. The low nutrient content is specially tailored to the seedlings, which cannot use large amounts of nutrients at all and develop stronger roots if there is less supply.
The coffee seeds are put about 1 cm deep into the ground and the substrate is slightly moistened. Put a plastic bag over it and keep the jar warm at at least 23 °C. It takes about four weeks to germinate. During this time, the soil should always be kept slightly moist and the plastic bag should be aired daily to prevent mold from forming. The pot is then placed in a light location so that the seedlings can continue to grow and can finally be repotted.
Propagation via cuttings
Coffee plant cuttings are cut in spring when the growing season begins. The cutting should be cut from the top of the center shoot to keep it growing straight up. It is important that the shoot section is not yet lignified, has no buds or fruit and already has two to three leaves. All remaining leaves are from the 8 to 20 cm longDrive piece removed.
Insert each cutting individually into a pot of potting soil and keep the soil constantly moist. A bright and warm place with temperatures of 24 to 28 °C should be chosen. A plastic bag pulled over it increases the humidity and thus the chances of success for the propagation - but it should be aired regularly. After two to three months roots should have formed.
Overwinter coffee plant
Since coffee plants are not hardy, they must not be left outside in winter. A bright and warm place at around 20 °C is best for overwintering the coffee plant. Since the air is dry in winter, you should also ensure that there is sufficient humidity. The best way to do this is to place water bowls on the heater near the coffee plant. Alternatively, it can be regularly sprayed with water. In winter, watering is done less and not fertilized, since the coffee plant hardly grows at this time.
Is the coffee plant poisonous?
The coffee plant is not poisonous to humans, and with a bit of luck it can even be used to make your own coffee. However, it is different with pets. For safety, cat owners should place the coffee plant in a place that the cat cannot reach. Because if the coffee cherries are consumed in large quantities, the caffeine they contain can lead to vomiting or diarrhea in pets. The leaves, on the other hand, contain only very small amounts of the active ingredient and are harmless.
Tip: In nature, the coffee plant uses the caffeine. It inhibits the germination of other plants in the area and discourages predators from eating the leaves and fruit.
Now it's just a matter of caring for the coffee plant properly. We'll show you how to water, fertilize and prune the coffee plant appropriately, and provide helpful tips.