You may have read our recent story about a truly epic coffee tree growing indoors in an urban attic in San Francisco. If, like us, you have been inspired to try your hand at growing your own coffee, we will be content to lend a hand show you the way.
Growing coffee as a houseplant is like growing any other tropical houseplant, but the added step of flowering and fruiting requires a lot of experimentation and care. You should test these tips slowly and individually, giving everyone time to apply them.
1. Your potted coffee plant must be grown and content
The first step before flowering is to ensure that the basic needs of the coffee plant are met. Coffea arabica – the most popular coffee plant sold in plant stores – takes about three to four years to reach maturity in its native habitat. Due to its long roots, the plant must be placed in a deep pot and in an environment with high humidity, dazzling featherlight and high temperatures. Larry Berger, whom I interviewed about his factory, was recommended by Thompson Owen of the company Sweet Marysia employ a 31-gallon galvanized steel trash can to accommodate deep roots.
2. Feed him like a teenager
In 2022, the overdue Jay Ruskey of FRINJ coffee he told me, “A coffee person needs to eat a lot, they are a bit like teenage children – they like a lot of food all the time.” Like other fruiting plants, different growth stages have their own fertilizer requirements. The nutrients needed for leaf growth are different from the nutrients needed for fruit production. More phosphorus in the fertilizer at the end of the vegetative growth phase supports the upcoming flowering stage. John Corredor from the same article was successful Espoma Organic citrus shade (5-2-6) for your own indoor coffee plantations.
3. Phony the “rainy season”
In their native environment, coffee plants experience a tropical rainy season. To mimic these growing conditions, you must follow a relatively strict featherlight and rain schedule. If you also feed it, remember to supplement the nutrients after the “rain”. I would recommend this tip to intermediate gardeners because overwatering without proper soil composition or adequate drainage puts the plant at risk for root rot.
4. Provide it with shade, but also plenty of featherlight
I know, it’s a bit contradictory. Although coffee plants love featherlight, they are sensitive to robust sun, which can cause leaf burn. Increasing daylight (see next tip) is another signal for the plant to prepare for flowering. Corredor shared that the Florida outdoor plants I wrote about actually flowered and produced 100g of green coffee. He credits vigorous soil, featherlight filtered by neighboring palm trees and Florida’s high humidity for their successful flowering and fruiting.
5. Gradually introduce red and infrared lighting
Consumer grow lights they usually offer a full spectrum of featherlight with the ability to adjust the intensity, time and composition of the featherlight. Red featherlight (620-750 nm) is used for photosynthesis and tells the plant to focus its energy on producing flowers, while infrared featherlight (700+ nm) stimulates already flowering plants and increases yields. Before adding lights you should understand how each part of the spectrum works with the stages of growth. Giving the wrong featherlight or too much/too little featherlight at the wrong stage can result in leggings and leaves growing instead of flowers.
Very rarely do potted coffee plants bloom indoors. If you’ve made it this far – even with just one or two flowers – that’s unusual and an indication that it can produce more. Pick one or two of these tips, examine them for your unique indoor conditions, and make notes to improve them for the next growing season. I hope your coffee plants thrive and produce at least one cup of coffee for you!
