Coffee is a tree, originating from Ethiopia, the Marenov family. For a long time it was not recognized as an indoor culture because of the belief in the complexity of its cultivation. However, with good care, you can achieve not only the flowering of this unusual exotic plant, but also get the fruits for making a real coffee drink.
Coffee tree varieties
Out of a wide variety of coffee trees, only three varieties are suitable for indoor conditions.
| Grade | Description |
| Arabian | Compact tree with elliptical or elongated olive leaves. Their surface is smooth, and the inside is pale. It has small inflorescences (no more than 2 cm), the flowers bloom alternately, after which burgundy-colored fruits are formed that resemble berries. Grains ripen after 8 months. It grows to 5 meters. |
| Dwarf Nana | No more than 1 meter high. It is distinguished by an abundance of flowers and, as a result of good care, an excellent crop of grains. By trimming and pinching a tree, you can give it a bizarre shape. |
| Liberian | The most popular type for growing at home. The leaves are large, grow up to 40 cm. Flowers collected in a light inflorescence are also quite large. Fruits are scarlet or orange. |
House growing conditions
If you want to get a healthy plant, it is recommended to consider a number of important nuances.
Location, lighting
A coffee tree loves light, so it's best to place it on the south, southeast, and southwest windows. But it withstands shading, when placed on the north window it will slow growth, flowering will be incomplete. Shading recommended after the birth of the fruit.
It is interesting that sometimes a slowdown in growth can be caused by excessive lighting, especially in young plants.
Temperature
The best in the spring and summer is + 21 ... + 23 ° C. Autumn-winter - + 14 ... + 15 ° C. The temperature must not be allowed to fall; at + 12 ° C the tree may die.
Humidity
The plant needs high humidity. Even frequent spraying may be insufficient.
Priming
The plant needs acidic soil: humus, turf and leafy soil, sand, taken in equal proportions, with the addition of two parts of peat. Such a substrate is used when planting young plants and for transplanting adults.
Be sure to use drainage. It is better to add small fractions of sphagnum moss, so you can maintain soil moisture and its acidity.
Watering
In spring and summer, the coffee tree needs to be watered abundantly; in winter, hydration is not so important. It is best to use soft rainwater.
Since coffee takes moisture from the air, it needs to be sprayed every day. It is also recommended to wipe it with a damp sponge. Occasionally, a tree is poured from the shower with warm water or poured water into a tray.
Fertilizer
The coffee tree is fertilized in spring and summer, during the growing season, this is not necessary in winter. Potash or nitrogenous liquid top dressing is suitable. You can also use a solution of chicken droppings (500 ml per 1 liter of water). Another option is a solution of bone meal (200 g per 10 kg of land). Fertilize under the root, while the earth should be moist.
From the beginning of spring to the first frosts, coffee is fed with complex fertilizers for roses and azaleas, you need to do this every day.
Trimming, shaping a tree
After the initial planting of coffee in the ground, a year later, the tree grows to a height of 20-25 cm. During the growing season, axillary buds are formed in it - the embryos of future branches. Crown growth occurs actively in the second year of life. At this time, pruning the plant is not recommended. The branches grow perpendicular to the trunk, due to this the crown acquires a wide magnificent shape.
Transfer
In the spring, every first three years, the tree is transplanted. At the beginning, the pot for the plant should be no more than 12 centimeters in diameter. After the capacity is increased by 5 cm each time. At the age of three, it is enough to transplant once every 3 years, but it is necessary to change 3-5 cm of the top layer of the earth once a year. If these rules are not followed, the plant will not bloom.
Planting a plant
Features of tree planting directly depend on the selected method of propagation.
Breeding
There are two methods for producing a complete plant:
- seed;
- stalk.
Seed propagation
Coffee seeds are taken ordinary not roasted. Germination stages:
- Scarify grains (destroy shell). This process is carried out by the chemical (quick lowering of the seed in gauze into sulfuric or hydrochloric acid) or by the mechanical (notch, file) method.
- Soak the prepared grain in a growth stimulator (Zircon, Epin or Kornevin).
- Prepare the soil in advance (preferably half a month before disembarkation). It should consist of steamed sod land (one part), peat and sand (two parts), you can add ash.
- Pour drainage into the pot, prepared substrate, take a grain and flatten down to deepen about 1 cm into the soil.
- Pour, cover with a transparent material (glass, film).
- Put in the light, but not in direct sunlight. Keep the temperature in the room + 20 ... + 25 ° C.
- Periodically remove the shelter and spray the landing.
If you follow the rules after a month, the grains should hatch. When leaves appear, it is necessary to transplant. The pot should be taken with a diameter of not more than 7 cm, but deep enough. Be sure to protect the seedling from the sun. After a month, repeat the transplant, taking a larger diameter container.
Cuttings
This method has several advantages:
- 100% result subject to the rules;
- the properties of the mother tree are completely transferred to the new;
- terms of growing a full-fledged plant are reduced, which means that you can get the first crop faster;
- tree growth occurs in width.
Stages of Cherenkovaniye:
- Prepare the substrate, for this use a mixture of perlite with peat. It should be loosened, saturated with oxygen and moistened.
- Pour the finished soil with a weak solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection.
- Prepare a stalk, for this, from the middle of an adult tree, select a one-year-old branch, cut it with a sharp knife three centimeters below the sheet.
- In the lower part along the freshly cut branches, make scratches with a needle for better root formation.
- Place the cuttings in a solution that stimulates the growth of the root system for three hours. For example: a tablespoon of honey in 200 ml of water or ¼ tablets of Heteroaxin in 1.5 liters of water.
- Place it vertically to dip only the bottom. Then plant the stalk in the soil, deepening about three centimeters, so that the entire part under the bottom sheet is completely in the ground. Top with polyethylene (bag, film) with holes for access of oxygen and moisture when spraying.
- Put the container in a shaded room. The optimum temperature for rooting the cuttings is + 25 ° C.
Diseases and possible difficulties in growing
During growth, insects attack the coffee (spider mite, scale), diseases develop, in particular, fungi.
For any of these problems, you need to wipe the foliage on both sides with a sponge moistened in soapy water. Only after this can special drugs against parasites, such as Actellik or Karbofos, be used.
10 drops of any of these products are taken and diluted in 10 liters of water. If coffee is severely affected by pests, then re-spraying is mandatory. The interval between treatments should be at least a week.
Alcohol is effective against aphids, they wipe both sides of the foliage. With fungus, copper sulfate is used.
It is also worth remembering a number of rules:
- when planting in insufficiently acidic soil, the foliage of the tree may turn pale;
- if the room temperature is below +10 degrees, the tree dies;
- if in the room dry foliage air curls.
When to wait for the harvest?
When a tree is grown from grains, the first fruits will appear no earlier than four years later. A tree grown from cuttings provides fruiting in the first year of flowering.
If you follow all the specified rules for caring for coffee, you can get not only a source of a delicious drink, but also decoration for your apartment. From grains, you can create all kinds of decorative elements.
It is believed that coffee helps in the fight against migraines and fatigue. Used to dilate blood vessels and increase blood pressure. Occasionally it is used for poisoning.
It is worth noting that, according to the rules of Feng Shui, this tree has a number of unique properties. It is believed that when placed in a home, welfare and family relationships improve. This plant is recognized as a type of money tree.
When placing this tree in the bedroom, a long and strong family life is guaranteed. This plant attracts positive energy into the house, which is already the reason to start growing a coffee tree.
