Increasingly, Arabica coffee - a houseplant decorates the interior of the apartment. Some gardeners believe that an experienced florist can grow an exotic. If Arabica coffee is planted as an indoor plant, care is not complete without features. The tree will please the first harvest a few years after planting, it does not hurt to be patient.
Description of Home Coffee Flower
Coffea Arabica is a coffee tree or a perennial shrub that belongs to the Marenova family. The plant grows on the Asian and African continent, everywhere they grow coffee at home.
Coffee tree - decoration for any interior
The height of the culture reaches 1.5 m. The tree has a thick luxurious crown, foliage of intense green color, elongated. The arrangement of coffee leaves is opposite on elastic slightly branched stems. The sheet plate is glossy, with clear veins. The roots of the arabian plant are branched. The central root is elongated.
Fruits and flowers have an unusual decorative effect. The flowers of the tree resemble jasmine-like stars with white petals and an attractive smell. They are collected in brushes of 3-6 pcs. The dissolution of the buds falls in the spring. Coffee fades quickly, after 1 or 2 days.
Arabian coffee tree
After 6 months, fruits are formed in place of the inflorescences, which are like elongated reddish cherries. When ripe, they darken, acquiring a black tint. There are 2 grains of coffee in a cherry.
Varieties of Coffee Trees
Arabica
Rocky hills, volcanic plateaus, highlands are preferable for an Arabian coffee tree. Up to 5 kg of grains per year is removed from an adult, which is approximately 1 kg of fruits. Coffee home plant feels great in capacity: form a tree up to 1.5 m in height or grow a bush.
Creating comfort and competent care will ensure that you receive 500 grams of fruit from an adult culture. The coffee crop is not the largest, but this is not the main purpose of the Arabica plant.
Arabian Dwarf Coffee Albert
Popular among gardeners, Albert is a dwarf variety that is grown indoors. An elegant plant is an evergreen tree that reaches a height of 3-5 m. If they do not violate the rules of maintenance, blooms twice a year, in spring and summer.
Robusta
The unpretentious tree was discovered in the Congo Basin in the 18th century. Distinctive features of the culture:
- withstands temperature extremes;
- grows on a depleted ground;
- brings a bountiful harvest.
However, Robusta became widespread after the destruction of Arabica reserves in Sri Lanka by sheet rust in the 2nd half of the 19th century. The appearance of a robust plantation dates back to 1900 and is associated with the island of Java.
Robustus is translated from Latin as wild, strong, strong. It is considered the best natural energy, but inferior in taste to Arabica.
The coffee tree is not high, it resembles a shrub 2-3 m high. The pubescent leaves are saturated green, with streaks. Aromatic coffee flowers have a white color.
Blooms Robusta
Grain ripening takes place over 9-11 months, a five-meter tree gives 1.5 kg of a fragrant crop per season.
Liberica
If you choose coffee at home, growing Liberica is a good option. The ripened fruits differ in appearance: a scarlet or orange-sunny shade. Foliage length is 40 cm. Pruning helps in adjusting the height and forming the crown.
Liberica tree
The inflorescences have a white color, the yellowish-reddish fruits have a large seed.
Excelsa
Excelsu has been considered since 2006 as a variety of Liberica. In the wild, the tree grows to 20 m. On the plantations, trees are trimmed to 1.5 m for the convenience of coffee pickers.
Excels wide sheets have straight edges. They are slightly thinner compared to Liberica, but rougher than Robusta. Large flowers of the plant have a spicy aroma.
On a note. Excelsi beans have an unusual smell: saturated, more fruity. Mild flavor, less bitter than that of Liberica. The caffeine content in the minimum amount is 0.7-1.5%. Available varieties that do not include caffeine and do not require additional decaffeination.
The positive characteristics of a demanding tree include a low susceptibility to pests and diseases.
Excels coffee tree
The plant is often used as a vaccine for other varieties to enhance vitality.
Growing coffee seedlings
What you need for landing
Grow a coffee tree in a special soil. It is bought in a store or prepared on its own. The following components will be required:
- sheet soil;
- peat;
- river sand;
- rotted manure.
Charcoal is mixed with grated moss. The pH level of the substrate is 5.0-5.5. When spraying, a couple of drops of vinegar can be added to the water.
Young culture will have to be transplanted next year, an adult in 3 years. Next, change the top layer of soil. The composition of the soil should be acidic, fertile, fairly light. It is responsible for aeration of the root system and prevents stagnation of water.
Optimal place
Ideal for placing coffee tree windows on the west and east side of the house. In the summer season, culture is brought to the balcony, which is protected from wind and rain, as well as the burning sun.
It is important to determine the location of the plant
Frequent changes in the environment that adversely affect fruiting are not welcome. If you want to get grain, the tree is not touched. Giving symmetry to the crown of coffee provokes crop loss.
Attention! The lack of ultraviolet light will negatively affect the growth of a houseplant.
When the plans move the flower to another windowsill, where there is more light, the following measures are taken:
- The bush is wrapped with gauze.
- Shelter is left for 2-4 weeks, so that the culture gets used to the new environment and lighting.
- The absence of burns after removing the gauze cover indicates approval of the new location.
Coffee refers to plants that prefer solitude and do not like crops in the neighborhood. For a seedling just right a separate window sill.
Pot selection
The selection of the pot is determined by the central root of the coffee tree. The size of the container exceeds the seedling by at least 30% for the plant to receive useful elements in sufficient quantities.
The right pot choice - great coffee growth
To prevent stagnation of moisture, good drainage is required. Expanded clay or broken brick is placed at the bottom of the vessel.
When a plant is transplanted, the main thing is not to disturb the roots, to carry out a coma transshipment, add lateral and top soil, compact slightly.
Coffee breeding
Cuttings
For breeding coffee, use cuttings. Distinctive features of the method:
- a cut of 10-15 cm of cuttings is made obliquely from an adult culture;
- there are 2 internodes on the workpiece;
- the distance to the lower flower bud is 2 cm;
- the sheets on the prepared material are reduced by half in order to avoid moisture loss.
How to properly prepare coffee cuttings
For the shoots you will need a nutritious soil mixture that includes peat and granular river sand. It is useful to calcine the mixture in the oven to eliminate harmful microorganisms. Each stem is deepened into the soil by 1-1.5 cm, tamped with earth a little, watered and covered with a plastic bottle to create greenhouse conditions. The temperature in this greenhouse is + 25 ... + 27ºC.
The mini-greenhouse needs regular ventilation and hydration. The formation of the root system of the plant takes from 4 to 5 weeks. The emergence of new shoots in the culture indicates the rooting of the seedling. When 3-4 leaves develop, coffee is transplanted into a container with a standard soil mixture.
Important! If coffee is propagated by cuttings, the plant blooms in the first year. Removal of flowers will be required due to the weakening of the bush, which prevents the correct development of the crown.
From bone
Coffee is grown with the help of beans that are removed from a fruitful tree or ordered on the Internet. For fruits from the tree is characterized by a large germination. The shelf life of seeds is limited to a year.
The dense shell of seeds complicates germination. To accelerate the appearance of sprouts, use a step-by-step guide:
- place the seed for 24 hours in a weak vinegar solution;
- cut the skin a little with a sharp knife along the length;
- hammer on the grain to crack the peel.
After the manipulations, the seeds are placed in a biostimulant using Heteroauxin, Kornevin, Ribav-Ekstra, Roots.
Planted in a small bowl, which is filled with a nutrient substrate. The grains are buried with a flat side of 1.5 cm. The soil is moistened and covered with a film or glass.
Bone reproduction
The container with seedlings is placed in a bright place where direct sunlight does not fall. They support soil moisture and temperature +25 ° С. Remember to air every day. Subject to the conditions, sprouts are expected to bite after a month.
The formation of the first pair of leaves indicates the need for transplantation. The pick is carried out in small but deep flowerpots, the diameter of which is 7 cm. The soil composition is similar. With the development and strengthening of the root system, plants are transferred to new pots after 10 months.
Caring for an Adult Coffee Tree
Watering mode
When growing an arabica coffee houseplant, care includes the correct watering. The plant is picky to moisturize during flowering and fruiting:
- It is forbidden to water the seedling with tap water. It is necessary that it settle for 2 days.
- Culture does not like lime.
- Humidification of the substrate in the tank is carried out with liquid at room temperature or higher by 2-3 ° C at any time of the year.
- Residues from the pan will certainly be removed after watering.
A coffee tree in the room is to your liking if it is sprayed daily with lukewarm water.
Attention! The yellowness of the ends of the coffee leaves indicates the dry air in the room.
In winter culture, the procedure is not required. With strong dusting, wipe the leaves with a moistened sponge.
Top dressing
Mineral nutrition has a beneficial effect on the plant. They are introduced with the advent of spring and continued until fruiting is completed. Feed twice a month with mineral fertilizer. Feeding is carried out by dissolving saltpeter (5 g) and potassium salt (3 g) in 1 liter of water. A single dose for an adult culture is a liter jar. Arrangement of mineral fertilizers with organic matter (manure) is possible.
Fertilizers for coffee trees
Timeliness of replenishment - a stimulator of tree growth and increased bushiness. It will take constant pinching of the side shoots.
Winter preparations
If you are preparing a flower for winter, caring procedures include:
- The location of the coffee tree is on the south side. The minimum room temperature is +15 ° C.
- The use of fluorescent lamps on cloudy and cold days.
- Reduced watering in winter.
Important! Do not allow cox earthen lump completely.
- Termination of feeding from October to March.
If the plant is properly looked after, after a few years, homemade arabica will thank the hostess with aromatic fruits and will allow you to feel the taste of real coffee.
