Hi! I have talked to several people who use coffee grounds to spruce up their plants. I had one former co-worker who would pour the coffee no one wanted into weak plants. And they would spring back to life. The Starbucks by my house sets out the grounds and they go like hotcakes. I hear the grounds are excellent for roses or anything. I haven't tried it. Due to the frost damage mine have had---I am tempted.
Soils vary. Actual benefits would vary on a case-by-case basis, same as when applying a chemical fertilizer.
Thanks for the response. I was just checking to see if anyone has tried this method is all. And if so, this could help others in my situation. Have a great day!
The thing is unless they have the same soil as someone else the results they got do not pertain. Another factor is without a controlled experiment there is no reliable means to establish an improved result or even a response. Throwing it on a few specimens and then having them look good later does not establish that it helped them. Multiple specimens on the same soil, including controls (untreated plants) need to be tested before a pattern can begin to be discovered.
Ron-----Thank you again for your response! I appreciate your attention. I don't know how I would have gotten thru the weekend without this valuable information. Have an excellent day!
In 1935, one of the 'jobs' I had at my grandmothers' house across the street from me was to spread the coffee grounds on the rose garden. Last I saw in 1960, the rose garden was still healthy.
I use coffee grounds but not on my roses. Coffee grounds are another (free) mulch and with I understand ,acidic qualities so I use them as a mulch under my blueberries and rhododendrons. Mulching regulary, especialy for roses is beneficial and will encourage the worms and other beneficials to make their home in your soil and improve it;s quality. Jan
We don't drink coffee so I have never used them but I sure do make sure all the banana peels go around the roses..They love it.
I use spent coffee grounds in the same way that I utilise other "green" components of our kitchen waste - they go into the compost bins. Coffee ground has a carbon:nitrogen ratio of 20:1. However, since it is grounded into fine particles, it makes an excellent green composting material. I have not used it as a mulch - for the same reason. In our garden, the finer particles compared to other easily available material make them less effective as a mulch. They tend to get splattered around with the rain and watering. The composition of Starbucks coffee grounds, based on analysis carried out by University of Washington College of Forest Resources is as follows: Nitrogen 1.45% Phosphorus not detectable Potassium 1204 ug/g Calcium 389 ug/g Magnesium 448 ug/g Sulfur high ug/g (?what does this mean?) But the University of Florida’s Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences reports the composition of coffee grounds as 2.08 percent nitrogen (N), .32 percent phosphorus (P), and .28 percent potash (K) (NPK=2.08-.32-.28). Compare that to brewed tea leaves which has an NPK of 4.15-.62-.40. For your interest, the NPK composition of other organic materials are: Banana peels = 0-3.25-41.76; cantaloupe rinds, 0-9.77-12.21; fish scraps (average composition), 4.75-1.5-6; oak leaves, .8-.35-.15; and pine needles, .46-.12-.03. So, if you want something a bit special, go with banana peels and cantaloupe rinds, for their high phosphorus and potassium content. On the other hand, unlike coffee grounds, there aren't many places where you can grab bags of banana peels and cantaloupe rinds for free! But the debate on coffee ground's use as a slug deterrent is a whole lot more interesting!
