Gardeners' World: How to care for houseplants
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Winter allows houseplant owners to water and feed their plants less during this time as they are in their dormant period. However, an expert at WeThrift has shared how using coffee can be used in the garden as well as on houseplants. The expert explained how coffee can be a great fertiliser for plants as it contains some of the essential nutrients plants need such as nitrogen, potassium, calcium and magnesium.
Gardening expert Nick Drewe, a trends and money expert from WeThrift said: “Coffee can be a great fertiliser for your plants because it contains some essential nutrients, such as nitrogen, potassium, calcium and magnesium.
“Coffee in particular is a great source of nitrogen, which your plants need to produce greener, healthier and stronger stems.”
While plants may not really crave a cappuccino, coffee serves as a source of nitrogen for plants that contributes to healthy, green stems.
It also contains calcium and magnesium, both of which are beneficial to overall plant health.
As well as helping plants thrive, giving them a caffeine pick-me-up can also add to the longevity of the plant.
This is because, despite its brown colour, coffee is considered a ‘green’ compost material because it is essentially kitchen waste.
Nick explained how a healthy compost mix should include browns and greens.
He said: “A healthy compost mix should contain even amounts of both greens and browns.
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“Greens include kitchen waste products such as coffee or eggshells, as well as any other fresh or ‘green’ products such as fresh grass, cut flowers or even weeds.”
Brown, on the other hand, includes carbon-rich products such as fallen leaves, dry grass, wood chips and paper – including paper coffee filters.
Its use of fertilising is not the only benefit coffee can bring to the health of plants, the morning pick-me-up is also a great natural insecticide.
Nick said: “Spreading coffee grounds around your plant will make them less likely to be harmed by pests like slugs.
“It is thought that the combination of the high caffeine content and the abrasive texture of coffee is off-putting to slugs and may be enough to deter them from gnawing on your plants.”
Nick also shared how coffee is a great fertiliser during the winter months.
He said: “Coffee is also a particularly useful fertiliser in the winter months because the coffee grounds will still work their way into the soil during freeze-thaw cycles, while other products can freeze under freezing or icy conditions.”
For those who don’t have a garden, the good news is that most indoor plants will benefit from the added increase in nutrients that coffee grounds also provide.
Nick added: “Coffee grounds can be used for most houseplants to achieve very similar results.
“The diluted coffee will continue to serve as an efficient and organic fertiliser for more healthy looking houseplants.”
“However, plants that find coffee grounds particularly beneficial are generally outdoor plants that include blueberries, hydrangeas, hollies, azaleas, and the vast majority of trees.”
Interestingly, when coffee grounds are added to the soil, they will naturally create a more acidic pH that will encourage flowers to bloom blue instead of pink, red or white.
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