Caring for a coffee tree at home - secrets and subtleties
The coffee tree is an exotic plant that decorates an apartment with an original, unusual appearance and fills with a rich aroma. Caring for a coffee tree at home is not difficult, but requires knowledge of the features of its agricultural technology. For proper care, the evergreen plant will "repay" with lush, fragrant inflorescences and bright berries, from the grains of which you can prepare a natural, tonic drink.
Main features and types of wood
Main features of the coffee tree:
- Under natural conditions, the plant height is 2.5-3 m.When growing a coffee tree at home, dwarf varieties up to 80-100 cm high are used.
- The leaves are long, fleshy, with wavy edges, hanging down on thin shoots, dark green in color.
- During the flowering period, the tree is covered with snow-white flowers, formed in bunches of 15-20 flowers with small peduncles.
- After flowering, green berries are formed, which turn red as they ripen. Each fruit consists of 2 seeds.
- The coffee tree blooms from April to September.
- Ripe fruits up to 1-1.6 cm long are covered with a crust, the pulp is sweetish with a slight sourness.
Before planting coffee at home, you need to choose the type of tree. The most commonly used for this is an Arabian, Congolese or Liberian tree.
The Arabian variety is a well-known Arabica. In the wild, the plant reaches 4-6 m in height; at home, the "Nana" variety is grown, the growth of which does not exceed 70-80 cm.
The Kongoluz or Robusta variety is distinguished by its rapid growth and unpretentious care. A feature of this species is considered to be the falling off of fruit shoots with leaves after their natural withering away.
Liberian variety - is distinguished by its high growth and massive root system. Such a tree is grown only in special greenhouses or large premises.
Caring for the coffee tree at home
When caring for a coffee tree at home, you need to consider several important nuances that will ensure active growth, lush flowering and abundant fruiting of an exotic plant.
Despite the fact that the plant grows in the tropics, it does not need direct sunlight. In too bright light and high air temperature, it will not bloom. It is best to place the tree on a west or north window with diffused light. When placed on a south-facing windowsill flower pot must be at least 1-2 m away from the window.
When growing an exotic plant, you need to remember that a coffee tree in a pot does not tolerate any movement in space very well. That is why a pot with a plant can be moved no more than 1 time in 4-5 years, otherwise it will drop flowers.
Temperature and humidity
When caring for a coffee tree at home, attention should be paid to maintaining optimal temperature and humidity. In the summer, the plant grows actively at temperatures from + 22 ° C to + 30 ° C. In the winter months, it should not fall below + 13 ° C.
The coffee tree needs high air humidity - at least 70%.To do this, on summer days, the plant must be sprayed with clean, settled water; in winter, additional irrigation is not required if the flower pot is placed away from heating radiators.
Pot and soil
To grow a coffee tree, you need to choose a container that is slightly larger than its root system. The pot shouldn't be too big. The best option is if it is 3-5 cm larger than an earthen lump with plant roots. Otherwise, soil acidification begins in the container, leading to the death of the root system of the coffee tree.
The soil for the coffee tree should be loose and breathable. You can cook it yourself:
- peat, humus, garden soil and river sand (in equal parts);
- peat, sod land, river sand, dung humus, leaf land, sphagnum moss (1:4:2:2:4);
- peat, leaf turf and coarse river sand (2: 1: 2).
To care for the coffee tree at home, you can also use store-bought nutrient substrates - the substrate for citrus is best suited to the requirements of an exotic plant.
Tree propagation methods
There are 2 ways to propagate a coffee tree at home - vegetative and seed. Using these methods, you can grow any kind of coffee tree - both Arabica and Robusta.
The first grade is considered more suitable. Robusta, although unpretentious, needs cross-pollination, otherwise it will not bear fruit.
Seeds
The usual coffee beans used to prepare the drink are not suitable for growing. They were collected for a long time and underwent special processing. You can only germinate grains, the "age" of which does not exceed 1-2 months.
Sowing seeds:
- Sterilize the wood substrate by holding it over steam from boiling water for 10-15 minutes.
- Lay the grains flat on the surface of the soil without burying them - this will cause them to rot.
- Water the beans liberally and cover with glass or plastic wrap.
- Remove glass or plastic wrap from the container twice a week and leave the crops for 2-4 hours for airing.
- After 6-8 weeks, the first shoots appear.
After the appearance of 3-5 strong and healthy leaves, the seedlings can be dived, planting in separate flower pots. After 3-5 years, a young tree will bear its first fruits.
Cuttings
Vegetative propagation of coffee is used much less often than seed. This will require several cuttings with two nodes, cut from last year's shoots. First of all, prepare the cuttings - soak them for 2-4 hours in a solution of a growth stimulator.
After that, plant the cuttings in a nutrient mixture of peat and sand (do not forget about the drainage layer), deepening by about 3-4 cm. When new leaves appear from the buds, the seedlings can be planted in separate containers. With this method of reproduction, the coffee tree begins to bear fruit after 1 year.
Coffee transplant
When the root system completely fills the flowerpot, it is time to replant the plant. Long-term presence in one pot inhibits its growth, impairs flowering and fruiting. The coffee tree is transplanted annually until it reaches 3 years old, after that every 3-5 years.
The pot for transplanting should be about 5 cm larger than the previous container. Transplanting can be carried out both after harvesting the berries and before the beginning of the flowering phase. The plant is transplanted together with an earthen lump.
How to transplant a coffee tree at home:
- clean the roots of the tree from rotten and dry shoots;
- fill the bottom of the pot with a layer of drainage - broken apricot pits, nutshells, clay shards or expanded clay;
- add 2 cm of coarse river sand and a nutritious substrate on top;
- lower the root of the plant with the earthen lump into the flowerpot so that the root collar is 1 cm raised above the ground level.
Pour the transplanted coffee tree with warm, settled or melted water. After 2-4 days, the top layer of the soil mixture can be slightly loosened to maintain the moisture balance and better oxygen supply.
Plant diseases
Diseases of the coffee tree at home most often develop due to improper care.
When growing an exotic plant, flower growers may face the following problems:
- the appearance of brown or purple spots on foliage is a common sign of phosphorus deficiency in the soil;
- dryness and darkening of the edges of the sheet plates - indicates insufficient air humidity;
- brown shade of leaves - appears when there is a lack of nitrogen in the soil;
- yellowing of foliage - may indicate rotting of the tree root system;
- holes of various sizes on sheet plates are a common result of sunburn;
- falling foliage in winter - insufficient lighting of the plant;
- slow growth, short flowering period - indicate a lack of nutrients and the need to use fertilizers.
The coffee tree is a tropical plant that, subject to the rules and nuances, can be grown on a windowsill. It will not only become a bright and original interior decoration, but also fill the room with a rich, pleasant aroma.