Arabica coffee - houseplant, growing conditions
Content:
Arabica coffee is a houseplant that is grown by many growers. This culture serves as a real decoration of the room and helps to cleanse its air from harmful substances. When growing a crop, it is important to properly care for it.
Arabica coffee as a houseplant
If you plan to plant coffee at home, growing a crop has certain characteristics.
The origin and appearance of the Arabica coffee tree
Arabica is a coffee tree or perennial shrub from the Madder family. The culture can grow in Asia or Africa. Moreover, it can also be grown in a pot at home.
Arabica coffee is great for growing at home
In height, the culture can reach 1.5 m. It is characterized by a thick and beautiful crown, decorated with elongated green leaves. They are distinguished by an opposite arrangement on elastic shoots. The leaves have a glossy surface and clear veins. The culture has branched roots with an elongation in the center.
Home coffee flower description: flowers and fruits
During the flowering period, umbrella-shaped inflorescences appear on the tree. They include 76 flowers with small peduncles. They are white in color and form on annual shoots.
Fruits include 2 round seeds. At first they have a yellow tint, and after a while they turn green. As they ripen, the fruits acquire a red hue, then they can darken, becoming black. Ripe fruits are covered with a crust with sweet pulp and 2 seeds 1.3 cm long.
The plant produces reddish fruits.
Varieties of coffee trees
There are many varieties and varieties of coffee today. Each of them has certain characteristics.
Arabica coffee tree
Under natural conditions, the Arabian tree grows on rocky hills or volcanic plateaus. Adult plants produce up to 5 kg of grains per year.
Florists often grow the Albert variety. It is a dwarf crop that is intended for indoor cultivation. It is an evergreen tree that, with proper care, can bloom 2 times a year - in spring and summer.
Robusta coffee tree
The plant was discovered in the Congo basin as early as the 18th century. The characteristic features of the culture include resistance to temperature fluctuations, the ability to grow in depleted soil, and high productivity.
Robusta is considered an excellent energy drink, but its taste is significantly inferior to Arabica. The coffee tree is small. In appearance, it looks more like a shrub that grows up to 2-3 m. The leaves of the plant are covered with fluff and have a rich green color.The culture has a wonderful flavor.
Liberica coffee tree
This type of coffee is easy to grow at home. To regulate the height of the plant and form a beautiful crown, it must be pruned. The leaves reach a length of 40 cm.
The inflorescences are white. After flowering is complete, fruits with large seeds are formed. Ripe fruits have a spectacular appearance. They have a scarlet or orange hue.
Excelsa coffee tree
Under natural conditions, the plant is capable of reaching 20 m. When grown on plantations, the plants are cut to 1.5 m to facilitate harvesting. Trees have wide leaves with smooth edges. Large flowers with a spicy aroma.
The advantages of the plant include resistance to diseases and pests. The culture is often used for grafting on other varieties, since it helps to increase vitality.
Growing a young coffee plant at home
In order for the cultivation of a crop to be successful, attention must be paid to planting.
What is needed for landing
The coffee tree must be grown in a special soil. The substrate can be purchased at a specialty store or made by hand. In the second case, it is worth mixing leafy soil, river sand, manure and peat in equal parts. In addition, charcoal and crushed moss should be added to the composition.
Fertile soil is required to plant a plant.
It is important to ensure that the parameters of soil acidity are 5-5.5 pH. When spraying a bush, a small amount of vinegar can be added to the water.
It will be necessary to transplant a young plant to a new place next year. An adult culture is transplanted at intervals of 3 years. Then it is enough to change the top layer of the earth.
Choosing the best place
The coffee tree should be placed on the west or east side of the house. In summer, it is recommended to take the plant out to the balcony. At the same time, it is not worth changing the situation too often, since this negatively affects fruiting.
If you want to harvest the tree, it is not recommended to touch it. Also, do not try to make the crown symmetrical, as this leads to a decrease in yield. In addition, the lack of lighting will negatively affect the development of culture.
Pot selection
The size of the container should be at least 30% larger than the seedling. Thanks to this, the plant will be able to receive a sufficient amount of nutrients. To avoid stagnation of moisture, it is necessary to make a drainage layer in the container. For this, expanded clay or crushed brick should be placed on the bottom of the pot.
When transplanting a plant, it is important to avoid damage to the root system. You need to move the bush with a lump of soil, after which it is necessary to add earth to fill the voids, and slightly compact it.
The plant needs a pot that is large enough to support root formation.
Breeding coffee
The culture can be propagated by cuttings or by seed. With the correct procedure, it will be possible to get a new plant.
Is reproduction by cuttings possible
Semi-lignified shoots or their tops should be used as cuttings. They must have 3-4 buds. The step-by-step process of breeding coffee looks like this:
- It is recommended to make an oblique cut under the lower kidney, 2 cm away from it.
- The leaves should be removed from the bottom. You must leave 2 sheets on top.
- Deepen the cutting by 2 cm into a moist peat and sand substrate. Before planting, you can use a root growth stimulant.
- It is advisable to make a greenhouse over the handle. To do this, you can use a bag or a plastic bottle.
- The container with the plant should be placed in a lighted place with a temperature of 20-24 ° C.
The plant can be propagated by cuttings
In order for the plant to develop normally, it needs to be watered and ventilated frequently. In a few months, new shoots will appear on the bush. When 3-4 leaves are formed on them, the bush can be transplanted into a deep container. At the bottom, it is imperative to make a drainage layer, which will ensure the full development of the root system.
Growing a coffee tree from a seed
For seeds to sprout well, they must be fresh. For this, it is recommended to use the seeds of freshly ripe berries. The longer the grains are stored, the less likely they are to germinate.
To grow a coffee tree, the seeds need to be deepened 2 cm into wet sand. From above, they must be covered with glass or a transparent bag and moved to a warm place.
The first shoots will appear in about a month. The soil must be periodically moistened. It should be borne in mind that it should not dry out. It is necessary to move the culture to a new place in separate pots after 10 months. By this time, the root system will have time to develop well and get stronger.
Caring for an adult coffee tree
An adult plant requires complete and high-quality care. Thanks to this, it will remain healthy and be able to bear a good harvest.
Watering mode
Coffee is a tropical crop that needs to be watered frequently. In this case, stagnation of moisture should be avoided, since there is a risk of rotting of the root system. Large leaves evaporate a lot of moisture. Therefore, the plant needs to be watered often, but very abundantly.
The higher the air temperature, the faster the topsoil dries. This should be taken into account when choosing an irrigation regime. In this case, the water should not be cooler than the air, therefore, the temperature parameters must be taken into account.
Water quality is also important. It should not include lime impurities, since this substance negatively affects the condition of the roots.
It is also worth considering the parameters of soil acidity. To maintain them normal, a little vinegar, just a few drops, should be added to the settled water for irrigation. It is also acceptable to use citric acid.
Although coffee responds well to moisture, it is worth monitoring the air humidity parameters. They shouldn't be too high.
The plant needs to be watered in a timely manner.
Top dressing
Nitrogen and phosphorus should be applied in the spring. For this purpose, it is recommended to take bone meal or horn shavings. It is recommended to apply top dressing every 6 weeks. Sometimes it is permissible to use combined compositions for indoor crops.
Preparing for winter
In order for the plant to grow normally, it must be properly prepared for winter. During this period, the tree should be placed on the southern windowsill. The air temperature in the room must be at least 15 ° C.
In cold and cloudy weather, it is recommended to use additional light sources. In winter, it is worth reducing the amount of watering. In this case, the lump of soil should not dry out.
For the winter, a coffee tree is placed on the southern windowsill.
Arabica coffee is a popular plant that can be grown indoors. To get a good harvest and a healthy crop, there are a number of recommendations to consider. Proper plant care should include timely watering and proper fertilization.
