Millet got me going on Coffee. This past weekend I picked up a Coffee tree it had a total of 8 tree's in one container. I re potted all 8 in 6" containers for a total of 8 tree's

I used CHC & Peat mix for all of them. I paid $17.00 for this, so it is not a big deal for any losses

All of the tree's have a lighter green to the leaves an not the robust green The man at the Nursery told me it was more likely do to over watering.

At this time I am not using any bottom heat for them. They are not in any direct light an no plant food of any sort has been applied, Just CHC & Peat/ Water

I have been told by 2 different people that they are grown much like Citrus

If anyone could offer any pointers or advice into successfully maintaining these. I would be Much Thankful Dale

Yes, they'll do ok under good citrus conditions. They are very frost-sensitive -- about like a true lemon. Also, they prefer a somewhat acid soil (5.0-5.5). Partial shade is fine, but they'll bear more in full sun. Seedlings should bear in the second or third year, if you can put enough size on them.

Malcolm

Dr Manners I know of other Coffee growers that are hiding in the back. That are interested in growing Coffee

Thank You for your valued information

What low temperatures can a coffee plant be exposed to before it suffers adverse effects, visible or otherwise?

Coffee is a true tropical, like bean and tomato plants. It loses tissue as ice crystals form (ice, not temperature per se, kills the cells). So we say 32°F/0°C is the limit. Of course, there can be some supercooling, in which ice fails to form, if there are no nucleating bacteria present, so you may actually be able to get the tree through a night of 29 or 30. But I wouldn't count on anything below 32.

They don't seem to suffer from chilly but non-freezing temperatures. We have one on the south side of my office/classroom building, where we get 30s every winter, and it shows no damage at all. But in years when there is a frost, the coffee dies right down to the ground.

Malcolm

Thanks, Malcolm. Then I shouldn't have a problem since my plants are indoors (but in an unheated room).

Dr Manners, I was surprized to read your comment about growing coffee in direct sun. I have always grown my coffee tree (now about 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide)as an understory tree growing under the partial shade of my banana. The coffee gets full morning sun, no mid day sun, and pretty good late afternoon sun. In Columbia and other coffee producing countries, are not coffee plantations always grown under taller trees? I always lear a lot from you knowledge. Thanks for a further explanation. - Millet

Colombia does tend to grow shaded coffee. However, Brazil (the world's leading producer) grows theirs in full sun. The trees are fine.

MMM

I'm growing my plants in an environment similar to that described by Millet and they seem to be quite happy. It is also my understanding that they're understory plants that prefer filtered light. Could it be that Columbia and Brazil grow different varieties of coffee?

So not only is Brazil the largest citrus growing country in the world, Brazil is also #1 in growing coffee. Does Juan Valdez realize this? - Millet

Jungle, the varieties are the same. Virtually all seedlings, so no named cultivars. And the majority is Coffea arabica, although Brazil does produce considerable C. rubusta as well. Coffee certainly does well as an understory plant, but it's fine with full sun.

I don't think Juan Valdez has been to Brazil. There, the coffee is picked by gigantic machines that drive over the row of trees (they're not very tall). The tree passes through a tunnel in the machine, and long finger-like devices "comb" the fruit from the tree rapidly. It's kind of amazing to watch.

But even in Colombia, they don't harvest as Juan says they do -- cherry by cherry (the name of a coffee fruit, containing 1-3 "beans"). Rather, they wrap thumb and forefinger around the stem and pull, releasing a hundred or more cherries as they pull along one stem.

It is argued (and may well be true) that shade-grown coffee has the finer flavor, and in areas where intercropping is popular, coffee makes a nice second crop to grow under your primary crop (e.g., under kola in W. Africa), much as cacao is grown, allowing the grower to increase income per hectare.

I moved my coffee (Coffea rabica) out from under the banana and set it in full sun. It really is not all that huge of a change, because the sun is now very low in the southern sky this time of the year. However, here in Colorado we are blessed with a very strong radiance from the sun, because of our elevation. My greenhouse is location at 5,440 feet elevation. Dr. Manners, I wonder if the summer sun at this elevation would be a problem to the coffee plant. Are Brazils coffee plantations near sea level? The streangth of the sun's rays at sea level are much weeker than at this elevation. I do get sun burn on some plants during the summer. - Millet

Yes, Brazilian coffee would be lower elevation, and somewhat closer to the equator. So I don't know how the irradiance would compare.

Well, I found this whole thing interesting. Now, I guess I will throw a little something different into the mix. I have Kona Coffee growing. I started with three plants, now I am down to one. The other two were "trying" to grow in full sun here in Charleston, SC...the other one was shaded by my fairly large Key Lime tree, it is doing wonderful. All three had the same water/rain conditions and heat, other than the shade of the Key Lime. Does Kona coffee offer a whole different set of growing conditions or did I just luck out with one and crap out with the other two?
Darren