How to Grow a Coffee Bean Tree
Growing a coffee bean tree is a great way to gain access to “free” coffee beans year round. In subtropical climates, you can grow coffee trees outdoors. If you live in a colder climate, you can still grow your own coffee tree, just indoors. The hardest part of growing a coffee bean tree is getting the plant started. Starting a coffee plant from seed is a slow-going, hit-or-miss process, where you might get only one successful germination for every 50 seeds. You can also start a coffee plant from stem cuttings, which is a similar process but usually more successful. After the plant is started, however, growing and caring for your coffee bean tree is a breeze.
- Growing a coffee bean tree is a great way to gain access to “free” coffee beans year round.
- After the plant is started, however, growing and caring for your coffee bean tree is a breeze.
Starting From Seed
Purchase green, unroasted coffee beans from a coffee importer or get a whole coffee cherry from a coffee plant. When using a coffee cherry, peel the skin first. Soak 20 beans in an inch of water for 12 to 24 hours, until you see at least five to eight of the beans develop a tiny white bump on their ends.
Plant the germinated seeds in a pot that is 1 1/2 inches deep and filled with vermiculite. Water well to keep the vermiculite moist and cover the pot with plastic wrap. After about two months, you’ll see a small “gooseneck” sprout poking through the soil.
Continue to water the coffee plant well once per day. After three to four months, you’ll see the plant’s first leaves. At up to nine months, the coffee plant will have true leaves. Repot the plant when the roots become crowded.
- Purchase green, unroasted coffee beans from a coffee importer or get a whole coffee cherry from a coffee plant.
- Water well to keep the vermiculite moist and cover the pot with plastic wrap.
Grow From Stem Cuttings
Select a stem that has at least two leaves and is 3/16 to 5/16 inch in diameter. Cut off the stem and remove one of the leaves. Split the second leaf in half.
Soak the “raw” end of the stem in rooting hormone for 15 seconds. Place the cutting in a small container with moist peat and cover with a polyethylene tent. Place the container in the shade.
Remove the tent as the cutting grows roots, and then repot it into a larger container as it grows.
- Select a stem that has at least two leaves and is 3/16 to 5/16 inch in diameter.
- Remove the tent as the cutting grows roots, and then repot it into a larger container as it grows.
How to Care for the Tree
Plant your young coffee bean tree in deep soil, whether indoors or outside. The roots must be able to reach down 3 to 6 feet into the ground. Your soil type can vary greatly, although coffee trees prefer more acidic soils with a pH of 4.5 to 6.
Water your coffee bean tree twice per week, consisting of one full watering and one half watering. A half watering is just watering the soil and allowing it to drain, while a full watering is adding water, allowing it to drain and then watering again with a fertilizer.
Expose your coffee bean tree to at least three or four hours per day of light. If you’re growing the tree indoors, it will thrive under artificial plant lighting.
- Plant your young coffee bean tree in deep soil, whether indoors or outside.
- Water your coffee bean tree twice per week, consisting of one full watering and one half watering.
Tip
The easiest way to start a coffee bean tree is to purchase and transplant a young coffee plant. Choose a tree that is 3 to 4 years old and about 4 feet tall.
Reduce watering to every other week for two to three months at the onset of winter. Then, water the plant generously at the beginning of spring to encourage flowering. You can use a fertilizer made for orchids.
Warning
Avoid exposing your coffee bean tree to extreme cold or heat, dry conditions, or strong winds. Coffee bean trees are subtropical, so you cannot grow them outdoors if you live in a climate that receives freezing temperatures or frosts.
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References
Tips
- The easiest way to start a coffee bean tree is to purchase and transplant a young coffee plant. Choose a tree that is 3 to 4 years old and about 4 feet tall.
- Reduce watering to every other week for two to three months at the onset of winter. Then, water the plant generously at the beginning of spring to encourage flowering. You can use a fertilizer made for orchids.
Warnings
- Avoid exposing your coffee bean tree to extreme cold or heat, dry conditions, or strong winds. Coffee bean trees are subtropical, so you cannot grow them outdoors if you live in a climate that receives freezing temperatures or frosts.
Writer Bio
Sarah Terry brings over 10 years of experience writing novels, business-to-business newsletters and a plethora of how-to articles. Terry has written articles and publications for a wide range of markets and subject matters, including Medicine & Health, Eli Financial, Dartnell Publications and Eli Journals.
