A low-maintenance coffee plant can be grown by yourself. All you need is seeds or a cutting and a lot of patience. Because before your coffee plant shows the first flowers, it has to be about five years old.
A coffee plant is quite demanding
Where can I get seeds for a coffee plant?
Of course, you cannot sow your roasted coffee beans. You need green coffee, fresh, ripe coffee cherries (as the fruits of the coffee plant are called) or seeds from specialist shops. You may be able to get green coffee from a small private roastery or on the internet. If you buy an old coffee sack, you might find some raw beans in there too.
Growing coffee is certainly not easy. The seeds should be as fresh as possible, if they are stored for a longer period of time, their ability to germinate will suffer. Soak the seeds in warm water for a few hours before planting them individually in pots of potting soil. In a warm, humid environment, for example a greenhouse, they germinate after about four weeks.
How do I grow a coffee plant from cuttings?
In order to grow a coffee plant yourself, you need so-called head cuttings. These are the shoot tips with some leaves attached, no middle parts. It is best to take these cuttings in the spring. You can also use parts of the pruning for propagation.
For successful root formation, the cuttings need a constant temperature of around 25 °C. If your apartment is not warm enough for the cultivation, place the pots with the cuttings in a mini greenhouse. Alternatively, pull a transparent film over the pots. Both the soil and the air should remain evenly moist.
Regular airing of the cuttings prevents mold from forming. Once the first roots have formed, slowly acclimate the plants to room temperature. Further maintenance does not differ from the maintenance of adult plants.
The essentials in brief:
- roasted coffee beans unsuitable for sowing
- use raw unroasted coffee beans
- fresh seeds germinate more successfully
- Germination period: approx. 4 weeks
- Cut head cuttings
- Cultivation temperature approx. 25 °C each
tips
For a slightly faster result, you should grow coffee plants from cuttings, if you have a lot of patience and time, then try sowing.