Coffee plant

Coffee plant: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Upright shrub with a main stem and horizontal side branches in tiers; indoors up to 1.5 m tall and 1 m wide.

Leaves

Opposite, elliptical, 10–15 cm long, dark green, glossy and wavy-edged.

Flowers

Small, white, star-shaped flowers in clusters in the leaf axils, with a sweet, jasmine-like scent; only on older plants.

Fruit

Round berries of 1–1.5 cm, green at first and red after seven to nine months; usually with two seeds: the coffee beans.

Roots

A taproot with many fine side roots; it needs a fairly deep pot and dislikes drying out.

Plants: March–April · Pruning: March–April

Why grow it?

• Handsome, glossy leaves with a wavy edge, all year round.
• A plant with a story: you can watch coffee cherries grow at home.
• Older plants bloom with white, fragrant flowers reminiscent of jasmine.
• The berries slowly ripen from green to red and stay on the plant for months.
• Arabica is self-fertile: one plant is enough for berries.
• It does well in a bright spot out of direct sun, where many flowering houseplants get too little light.

Coffee plant: where does it grow best?

• Light without fierce sun: by an east- or west-facing window, or a little way back from a south-facing one. Midday sun scorches the leaves.
• Warmth: 18–24 °C in summer; in winter ideally 15–18 °C and never below 12 °C.
• Humid air: a bright kitchen or bathroom is ideal, or stand the pot on a tray of wet gravel.
• No cold draughts and no spot directly above a radiator.
• A mature plant needs about 1 m of space so the side branches can spread freely.

Light

Bright, out of direct sun

Potting soil

Multi-purpose compost or airy, humus-rich compost

Acidity

Acid or neutral

Watering

Moderately

Size

1.5 m tall, 1 m wide

Temperature

Minimum 12 °C

Goes well with

• Gardenia: A relative of the coffee plant with the same needs: light without fierce sun, soft water and humid air.
• Boston fern: Enjoys the same humid air and makes a soft green base alongside.
• Calathea: Patterned leaves for the same bright spot out of direct sun.
• Swiss cheese plant: Large, cut leaves as a tropical neighbour in a bright place out of fierce sun.

Coffee plant: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April.

1. Repot young plants every spring in March or April, older plants every two to three years.
2. Choose a fairly deep pot with a drainage hole, 3–5 cm wider than the old one.
3. Use a humus-rich, slightly acidic compost: houseplant compost mixed with some ericaceous compost and a handful of perlite.
4. Set the plant at the same depth as before, fill in and firm lightly, without damaging the taproot.
5. Water until it runs out of the bottom and empty the saucer after a quarter of an hour.

Care

Watering

Keep the compost evenly moist, never soggy and never bone dry. Preferably use rainwater or soft water at room temperature.

Humidity

A tray of wet gravel, an occasional misting with soft water or grouping plants together keeps the leaf edges healthy.

Feeding

From April to September, liquid houseplant feed every two weeks; no feed in winter.

Leaves

Wipe off dust with a damp cloth so the leaves stay glossy and catch enough light.

Flowers and berries

Leave them on the plant. Brushing a soft paintbrush over the open flowers helps berries set indoors.

Turning

Turn the pot a quarter turn now and then so the plant grows evenly towards the light.

Tip: Water with rainwater or soft water and keep the air humid: the leaf edges will stay green. If you want berries, brush a soft paintbrush over the open flowers; arabica is self-fertile, so one plant is enough.

Coffee plant: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March–April.

When: Pruning is rarely needed. In March or April you can pinch out the tip or cut back a plant that has grown too large.

How:

• Pinch out the tip of a young plant just above a pair of leaves if you want a wider, bushier shrub.
• If it gets too tall, cut the main stem just above a pair of leaves; new shoots will grow from there.
• Remove dead, dry twigs and yellow leaves.
• Do not cut branches carrying flower buds or berries.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Use fresh, unroasted beans, ideally from ripe red berries of your own plant; roasted or old beans will not germinate. Remove the pulp, sow them 1 cm deep in moist seed compost and keep at 22–25 °C. Germination is slow, often more than a month.

Cuttings

In spring or summer: tip cuttings of about 10 cm from an upright shoot, in moist cutting compost under plastic at 25 °C. Cuttings from side branches often grow crooked and do not make a good upright plant.

Coffee plant: how does it get through the winter?

• A houseplant that stays indoors all year: below 12 °C it suffers damage; 15–18 °C is ideal.
• In winter, place it in a bright spot, a little closer to the window if needed, but not against the cold glass.
• Water less, but never let the root ball dry out completely, and do not feed from October to March.
• Keep it away from the warm, dry air above radiators and raise the humidity.

Diseases and pests

• Brown leaf edges: Dry air, a dried-out root ball or too much sun. Water more regularly, raise the humidity and move it out of fierce sun.
• Yellow leaves: Waterlogged roots, cold or hard water. Do not leave water in the saucer, move it somewhere warmer and use rainwater.
• Leaf drop: After a cold draught or a sudden change in temperature. Find it an evenly warm spot; it usually shoots again.
• Spider mite: Fine yellow speckles and webbing on the undersides of the leaves, especially in dry air. Rinse under the shower and raise the humidity.
• Mealybug and scale: White fluff or brown bumps on stems and leaf veins, often with sticky leaves. Wipe them off with a cloth and soapy water and repeat a week later.

Through the year

• January: Rest. Bright spot at 15–18 °C. Less water, no feed.
• February: Rest. Keep an eye on humidity and spider mite.
• March: Repot. Pinch out the tip for a bushier plant. Start feeding.
• April: Repot or cut back. Feed every two weeks.
• May: Growth. Regular watering. Protect from fierce midday sun.
• June: Take tip cuttings from upright shoots.
• July: Growth. Raise humidity in hot weather.
• August: Feed. Check for spider mite and mealybug.
• September: Last feed. Move closer to the light as the days shorten.
• October: Water less. Stop feeding.
• November: Rest. Away from draughts and cold windows.
• December: Rest. Keep evenly moist, not wet.

Edible and useful

Not edible. The leaves, berries and beans of the coffee plant contain caffeine, which is poisonous to cats and dogs: chewing them causes vomiting, restlessness, panting and a fast heartbeat, and in large amounts trembling and seizures. Keep the plant out of reach of pets and clear up fallen berries. An indoor coffee plant gives only a few berries; do not let children eat them and do not make tea from the leaves for them, as a lot of caffeine is not good for children either. Call your vet if your dog or cat has eaten some. If any is swallowed, call a poison centre (in Belgium 070 245 245) or your doctor at once.

Did you know?

• A coffee bean is the seed of the red berry; a berry usually holds two, flat side against flat side.
• Arabica is the most widely grown coffee species in the world. It is self-fertile, unlike robusta, which needs pollen from another plant.
• In the wild it grows as an understorey shrub in the shade of taller trees, in the mountain forests of Ethiopia.