A coffee tree (Coffea) - a tree-like evergreen plant of the madder family, giving birth to fruits of a bright burgundy color with seed seeds. This is a fairly tall shrub, reaching in natural conditions a length of 8-10 meters, a bush with large, leathery, opposite leaves and inflorescences of white or cream color. In culture, a tree is cut to a height of 1.5-2.5 meters to facilitate care and harvest.
The birthplace of the coffee tree is the tropics of Ethiopia. This species has an average development rate with an increase of 5 to 10 cm per year. This is a long-term culture whose lifespan depends on favorable climatic conditions. Known specimens that continue to bear fruit at the age of one hundred.
If you like to grow fruit plants at home, then see how to grow a home-made banana.
It has an average intensity of development with an increase of 5 to 10 cm per year. | |
It blooms from April to October. Next come the edible fruits. Only an adult plant blooms and bears fruit - 3-4 years. | |
The plant is easy to grow. | |
Perennial. |
Beneficial features
Coffee tree (Coffea). A photoSeeds contain a number of valuable substances and trace elements. But the most active and widely used of these is caffeine. Drinks and preparations based on it have a stimulating, tonic and stimulating effect, which allows you to treat headache, fatigue, nervous exhaustion and other ailments. Also, due to its rich aroma, coffee is indispensable in cooking in the manufacture of various desserts, drinks, pastries, ice cream.
Features of growing at home. Briefly
Contrary to the opinion of the capriciousness of the culture, the coffee tree grows at home without any problems, if you follow the basic principles of care:
Temperature mode | In spring and summer - 20-30ºC, in winter - 12-15ºC. |
Air humidity | Above average - about 70%. |
Lighting | Indirect Sunlight or Sunlight; northern, western windows. |
Watering | With softened, settled water at least every 2 days in summer, in winter - as the top layer of the earth dries up. |
Priming | Slightly acidic soil with a full drainage layer. |
Fertilizer and fertilizer | Add organic matter every two weeks, 2 times a month - mineral top dressing. |
Transfer | It is carried out when the pot becomes small, about once every three years. |
Breeding | Carried out by a vegetative method or by germinating from seeds. |
Growing Features | You should protect your coffee from even the slightest draft, and also avoid heavy watering. In winter, a rest period away from heaters is required. |
Coffee tree care at home. In detail
Bloom
The active period of development and flowering of coffee falls in early April and lasts until October.
Coffee is characterized by small inflorescences of white flowers of 4-6 pieces each, growing from the axils of the leaves and having a light aroma reminiscent of jasmine. Blooming home coffee tree will not immediately.
As a rule, with proper maintenance and mandatory dry wintering, flowers can be expected for 3-4 years of plant life.
Temperature mode
The optimal temperature for the growth and development of coffee at home is a value of 23 degrees. But even in hotter conditions with sufficient humidity in the room, the tree will feel fine.
In the winter, he is provided with rest at low temperatures: 12-15 degrees Celsius.
Spraying
Daily spraying with soft, settled water is required for a coffee plant in dry summers. Once a month, for this purpose, you can use an infused ash solution that has a preventive and protective function against pests and diseases. In cold seasons, coffee should not be sprayed if it is away from heaters.
Lighting
A coffee tree at room conditions not light-lovingTherefore, it does not need direct sunlight and grows well on the western and northern windows or near them. Illumination is required if the tree does not bloom for a long time and is always in the shade.
Watering
Despite the fact that this culture is essentially a tropical exotica, it does not like strong waterlogging and moisture in the pallet. At the same time, drying of the soil should not be allowed.
As soon as the leaves of the plant wilted - you need to water immediately, otherwise it will be extremely difficult to reanimate.
In winter, watering is reduced to once a week, also having previously checked the soil moisture level.
Pot
It is recommended to select a flower pot for a tree transplant according to its root system. Do not take containers many times more than before. It is precisely such a volume of the pot that is larger than an earthen coma with the roots of the plant by only 2-4 cm. Otherwise, the soil very quickly acidifies, the roots rot.
Priming
The coffee tree plant prefers clay, slightly acidic, organic-rich soil. In addition to store universal substrates, you can use the soil, consisting of garden, humus, peat soil mixed with river sand, one part of each. Do not forget about the full drainage layer, which eliminates stagnation of excess moisture in the pot. In addition, soil for gardenias or azaleas is a suitable substrate for planting a coffee tree.
Fertilizer and fertilizer
During periods of active development, the coffee tree simply needs nutrients to maintain high growth rates, lush greenery and fruiting powers.
The following are specific recommendations for fertilizing:
- in the period from March to May, nitrogen fertilizers are applied, then 1 time mineral and 1 time organic;
- in the summer months, once every 10 days, coffee is fertilized with monosubstituted potassium phosphate, while organic matter is completely excluded;
- in September, fertilizing with potassium salts is carried out by spraying the leaf crown.
Among other things, once a month it is worth slightly acidifying the soil with a solution of citric acid - 1 gram per liter of water.
Transfer
A long stay of a plant in one pot reduces the likelihood that it will develop well. Also, a coffee tree transplant is a necessary condition for its lush flowering and the forthcoming appearance of fruits.
Before planting the plant in the prepared soil, the roots of the coffee are cleaned of rotted or dried out processes.
The remaining healthy root system is laid in the soil so that the root neck is raised about 5-7 mm above the soil surface. The remaining volume of the pot is filled with fresh substrate. The transplanted tree is watered with settled or melt water at a temperature slightly above room temperature.
After two days, the top layer of the earth can be loosened to easily moisten the soil without risk of overfilling.
Pruning
Caring for a room coffee tree may include periodic pruning of the plant, depending on what kind of appearance the florist would like to give it. If it should be a standard tree, then coffee pruning is not necessary, because very often after such a procedure the branch stops growing. As a rule, coffee trees begin to branch actively when they reach a height of 50-80 cm and the standard look is obtained in a natural way. If you want to grow coffee in the form of a bush, you can form a crown, plucking the extra shoots.
Rest period
With the onset of cold weather, from about October, it is recommended that the coffee tree take a rest. During this period, coffee care has a number of features:
- the temperature in the room should not exceed 15 degrees and fall below 12;
- watering is necessary only if the topsoil is well dried up;
- the plant stands in the shade, but for several hours a day organized illumination.
With the onset of spring or even at the end of February, the tree is gradually carried out in warm conditions, but still not exposing to bright sunlight.
Can I leave without leaving on vacation?
So that the plant does not die during the departure of the owner, it should be prepared as follows:
- remove inflorescences or fruits, as during the growing season coffee consumes more moisture;
- pinch the tops of developing shoots in order to temporarily suspend their growth;
- before leaving, the tree can be put on a wet foam mat, which is in a container with water. At the same time, in the flower pot, the drainage hole should be loosely plugged with a piece of foam.
In addition to the above, you can purchase special auto-watering devices that provide regular access to moisture for plants for 2-3 weeks.
Coffee tree propagation
Growing a coffee tree from seeds
Coffee tree made from seeds at home. A photoFor breeding coffee using seeds, only fresh, freshly harvested seeds are used. The older the seed, the less likely it is to sprout.
Sowing soil should be permeable and loose, for example, a mixture of sheet soil with river sand is suitable. Before sowing, it must be sterilized - kept over steam from boiling water for about 10 minutes.
Seeds are laid flat on the surface of the soil without deepening, they rot in the ground. Then everything is poured with warm water and covered with polyethylene or a glass bell. Twice a week for 3 hours, the greenhouse cap is removed to ventilate the soil. The most favorable germination temperature is 25 degrees. The first shoots can be expected no earlier than after 1.5-2 months. As soon as several good leaves are shown, seedlings can be planted. Such a tree will bear fruit for 3-4 years.
Coffee tree propagation vegetatively
To brew coffee in this way, cuttings with two nodes are cut from last year's branches. Previously, they should be soaked in a solution that stimulates growth, for example, heteroauxin, for several hours. Prepared shoots are planted in a sand-peat mixture (1: 1) with a depth of 3 cm. A drainage layer is required! Temperature and watering is carried out in the same way as when growing seeds. For more successful rooting, it is recommended to organize a lower heating of the pot with cuttings.
After waiting for the appearance of new leaves from the kidney, the sprouts can be planted. Coffee plants obtained in this way begin fruiting the very next year.
Diseases and Pests
The main problems that flower growers face when growing a coffee tree:
- leaf edges darken and dry due to lack of humidity;
- leaves coffee tree turn yellow with the appearance of rot at the roots;
- brown spots on the leaves appear with a lack of nitrogen in the soil;
- holes form in the sheet after getting a sunburn;
- young leaves turn yellow, only green veins remain due to the low acidity of the soil;
- leaves turn yellow, rot and fall after excessive watering;
- winter leaves fall in low light;
- slowly growingif there is no regular feeding;
- leaves are wrinkled and covered with yellow spots when watering with hard water or a lack of potassium;
- purple or brown spots on the leaves occur with a lack of phosphorus in the soil;
- young leaves are small and light yellow due to iron deficiency.
The pests most commonly found in coffee are scabies, mealybugs and spider mites.
A popular variety of coffee tree home with photos and names
Arabian coffee tree
Well-known arabica. Under natural conditions, it reaches a height of 6 meters, but for home breeding its dwarf variety "Nana" with a maximum length of about 80 cm is used. It blooms twice a year and is easily formed.
Congolese coffee tree
Its second name is robusta. Unpretentious plant with a highly developed root system. The peculiarity of this type of coffee is the fall of fruit branches after natural dying.
Liberian coffee tree
This is a large and very tall tree with a pyramidal crown, suitable for cultivation in greenhouses or large premises. The plant is resistant to most diseases of coffee trees.
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