Hi, I'm wondering if it'd be a good idea to trim my indoor coffee plant, which is growing long horizontal offshoots. If I cut those off, would the plant start growing faster vertically instead? Or is it better to just leave it alone? Thanks, Andrei
Horizontal 'offshoots' - do you mean new branches from the trunk? Because if so, I don't think cutting them would help the trunk grow taller, possibly even the opposite, but I'm not sure what or where the offshoots are coming from... ?
Hi Rima, Yes, those are new branches growing from the trunk. It's just that some of them are as long as about a third of the trunk length already, so if they keep growing more, I was thinking of cutting them in the middle or something (not cutting them off completely). But perhaps this is a normal way for a coffee plant to grow, and I'm not sure whether coffee plants like any trimming at all... new2realplants: I didn't grow my plant from seeds, I bought it as a small plant in a pot from the UBC botanical garden last fall (for $3). Andrei
Could they be new branches, or just very long stems with a bit of foliage on them? I'm sorry.. my coffee's never done anything like that and maybe someone else will know better. I would think that if they're new branches (trunks?) that have just not fattened yet, you need to decide whether to keep them or not, but if they're sort of suckers that have sprung from the trunk, it's your choice to keep them or not. You could just wait and see what they want to be. Coffee's aren't generally pruned unless they've been turned into bonsai at some point.
Branches have broken on mine during its many moves, so I don't think it'll hurt. Why? Have you run out of room?
Re: new2realplant's seeds Try sweet talking yer friendly neighbourhood roaster out of some green beans. Otherwise keep an eye out for them at yer favourite plant store. I wouldn't call them common, but they're not rare either. I got mine at a plant store/flower shop here in Whitehorse a lot of years ago, and have only seen them once since...but this is the back of beyond.
Hi , Usually the horizontal branches are not pruned when grown for beans. Only the height is controlled by nipping the top two three leaves, this makes the plant give out more branches or more shoots from the trunk. I have two grown from seeds, they are a dwarf variety, eight years old and as the pictures show has blossomed for the first time!! Usually they should have borne in the second year. I have tried to manually pollinate the flowers and am eager to see if they have set. The plants are thriving indoors only, a few years ago tried keeping them out in summer under shade and they didn't like it.
Nice looking trees, keyboard. They appear to be single trees in each pot. Is this the case? Have they been tip-pruned as described? I hope I won't have to wait 8 years for my guys to flower. How's the fragrance?
Here's some info. about pruning coffee - "Coffee has a unique, predictable growth and bearing habit that is managed by pruning to maintain good production. A new plant will produce one or more upright stems that do not fruit, but produce horizontally growing lateral stems that eventually will fruit. The laterals grow several inches in their first year, cease growth and initiate flowers in the dry season, then flower and fruit in their second year. As the one-year-old section of the lateral is fruiting, the apical bud breaks and extends the lateral vegetatively. Since only the portion of stem that grew the previous year can fruit, in successive years the bearing wood moves progressively further and further from the upright stem. Lower laterals eventually shade out, leaving the lower and central portions of the canopy devoid of leaves and fruit. The type of pruning practiced is called renewal or rejuvenation pruning, which basically constitutes cutting the entire plant back to about 18" and allowing it to re-establish a canopy of fruiting laterals. This is done every 4-7 years. Depending on grower preference, cultivar, and spacing, each tree is thinned to one, two, or several upright stems after pruning, which generally grow unchecked for another 4-7 years. If a single stem is retained, it may be tipped periodically to keep it from becoming too tall before the next pruning cycle. In multiple-stemmed trees, one or two stems may be kept for the year after pruning to provide photosythate for the new growth and bear a small crop. The stems left behind are called "lungs" or "breathers". This is from the U. Georgia (U.S.) website.
Re: new2realplant's seeds Green coffee beans from a roaster have been washed, dried and milled. They will not do anything if planted. Colin - www.coffeecrew.com
Hi Guys, Excuse me for the long silence. My trees are individuals in separate pots and have been growing pretty healthy the past few years after a long spell of poor growth in the early years, which prompted me to tip them, and both have parallel stems from the base. The fragrance is that of jasmine. The trees are self pollinating I am told. Hats off to you Pinenut,for having the northern most coffee trees in the world, that to bearing ! The article presented by Rima is pretty interesting. The basics of coffee cultivation are pretty same but differ according to the terrain on which it is grown and harvested. My Dad owns a coffee plantation in southwestern India and it is grown on quite hilly terrain and harvested manually as opposed to coffee in south american flats and harvested by machine.
My plants are in their second year of growth and are putting out laterals. If I'm lucky I'll find blooms on them next year :) They sure are fast growers.
