Notes Of The Florist: Coffee Tree. Growing And Caring At Home. Photo

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Notes Of The Florist: Coffee Tree. Growing And Caring At Home. Photo
Notes Of The Florist: Coffee Tree. Growing And Caring At Home. Photo

Video: Notes Of The Florist: Coffee Tree. Growing And Caring At Home. Photo

Video: Notes Of The Florist: Coffee Tree. Growing And Caring At Home. Photo
Video: Coffee Tree Flowering 2024, March
Anonim

For me, as a person who is fond of breeding indoor plants, the most important thing in choosing the next specimen to replenish my collection is its exoticism. Of course, the plant itself must be beautiful, but not only. It should also arouse the interest of others, because it is always nice to be proud of your pet. And if such a plant also bears fruit, then this is just a real hit! And this plant in my collection is the coffee tree.

Coffee tree sprouts. Arabian coffee, or, Arabian coffee tree (Coffea arabica)
Coffee tree sprouts. Arabian coffee, or, Arabian coffee tree (Coffea arabica)

We all know that coffee grows in hot countries, and its main varieties have already familiar names: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica and Excelsa. But few people had a chance to see how coffee looks in wildlife, only if they go on a tour of the coffee plantation. Wouldn't it be great to have a whole plantation of coffee on your windowsill? With these thoughts, I went to the nearest flower shop.

The Arabica coffee tree, or rather its sprouts, I purchased in large quantities in a network garden store. In a pot, about 15-20 shoots with a height of 7-10 centimeters grew. The bad, weak and seemingly damaged sprouts were immediately thrown away, and the good ones were planted in pots of two or three. The bushes grew rather quickly and after two or three years they turned into beautiful trees that began to bear fruit.

Coffee berries have delighted me for several months. They were green at first, and then turned red. They ripened for about 6-8 months, and from the first harvest about five grains were harvested. In fact, under room conditions, it is absolutely possible to collect up to one kilogram of coffee, but only from already mature trees from six years old.

Growing a coffee tree at home

Priming

The soil for the coffee tree should be very light, breathable and permeable. In principle, the soil that is sold for tropical plants may be suitable, it will just have these characteristics. If you prepare the soil yourself, then you can take a mixture of peat and humus in a 50/50 ratio as a basis. You can also put a few pieces of charcoal in the pot, which will get rid of the acidification of the earth. Moreover, the pot for planting must be chosen high, since the root system goes down.

Fertilizer

The coffee tree grows all year round, so it requires regular feeding, about every ten days. Fertilize with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace elements. As a nitrogen fertilizer, you can use pomace from peat, vermicompost, which can be bought in garden stores. A superphosphate solution can be used as a phosphorus supplement. And from the ash, you can get a good potassium supplement.

Crown formation

Small coffee plants only grow upward. As it grows, skeletal branches begin to grow, which are closely associated with the trunk. Accordingly, in order for the crown to develop evenly, the tree must be regularly rotated around its axis so that the plant develops evenly.

Coffee berries
Coffee berries
A coffee tree
A coffee tree
The coffee tree loves partial shade
The coffee tree loves partial shade

Caring for the coffee tree

Despite the fact that coffee is a resident of the subtropics, it is not recommended to place a pot in direct sunlight, since in nature coffee grows in partial shade from large trees. The best windows in the apartment: east or west. Since coffee is a tropical plant, temperature is very important, especially in winter. The room temperature should not fall below 15 ° C. At low temperatures, a black border will appear on the leaves, then the leaf turns black and falls off.

Also, in winter, I advise you to put a board or foam under the pot so that the roots of the plant do not freeze. And, finally, coffee absolutely does not tolerate drafts. In winter, you should be especially careful when ventilating the premises. If cold air hits the plant, the coffee will freeze immediately.

If the tips of the leaves dry on the coffee, this is the first sign of dry air. Solution to the problem: it is necessary to either increase the humidity in the room - put a humidifier or a container of water under the battery. You can also spray the bush regularly with a spray bottle. It is very useful to rinse the foliage with warm water under the shower at least once a month, so that the water does not flood the pot. With this regular maintenance, the leaves will always be shiny and beautiful.

In addition, regular spraying of coffee will protect you from spider mites, the most important pest that can appear at home. The first signal of its appearance are light dots on the leaves - puncture sites, and, of course, small cobwebs.

You should also be careful when watering. You cannot fill the plant, the leaves will become faded and begin to fall off. And do not overdry. Given that the leaf surface of the coffee tree is large, moisture evaporates very quickly. As soon as the earthen lump dries up, the leaves will instantly fall off. Therefore, it is extremely important to water the plant with a small amount of water almost every day so that the earth always remains moist, but at the same time the water does not stagnate in the pan of the pot. Water should be watered at room temperature, separated, soft and without lime.

each berry contains two coffee beans
each berry contains two coffee beans

Coffee tree resuscitation experience

My plants have experienced "clinical death" twice. The first case occurred when the plant was frozen by opening a window in winter at a temperature of -25 ° C. Only the stem was left from the coffee, and the leaves instantly fell off. The second case - in my absence, the plant was irregularly watered, and it dried up, again dropping the leaves. The recipe for revitalizing such near-dead plants was in regular spraying with reduced watering. After a few months, the plants turned green again.

One coffee tree can produce 0.5 kg of coffee beans per year
One coffee tree can produce 0.5 kg of coffee beans per year

Thus, having provided the plant with comfortable conditions, you can admire not only the dark green foliage, but also harvest real coffee with enviable regularity! By the way, do you want to know what I did with my first crop? Of course, I immediately distributed it to the pots with soil and now I'm waiting for a new harvest. Soon I will have my own little coffee plantation on the windowsill that the whole office will talk about and hopefully beyond.

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