Some days coffee is the only thing that stands between me and an unfortunately timed nap behind the wheel of my Miata. Other days it just makes the morning (and the afternoon) better. Pretty much any day is a day that I could wax rhapsodical about caffeine. But who knew it could also help plants grow?Turns out, in California at least, coffee grounds are great for the soil around plants. Especially acid-loving plants like gardenias. That's because the soil in the western United States is less acidic than the soil back east, where this trick probably doesn't work very well. Hmm, I live in California. I have lots of coffee grounds. And I have (I think) a gardenia.
Sadly, the plant is puny and doesn't want to produce any flowers.Maybe it wants some coffee grounds? I spread some around its base yesterday.
Today, I noticed what might be buds. Then again, they might be new leaf growth. Whatever they are, they probably predate my caffeine application since I've been watering the plant more lately too. Hopefully the grounds will at least make it less of a runt? They should, since they're quite nitrogen-rich, and nitrogen is a key component of fertilizer. Supposedly they will also repel ants, slugs, snails, and cats who want to use fresh soil as a litter box.
It'll be interesting to see if this works. If it doesn't, and the plant dies, I I can easily blame the grounds and not my sleep-deprived self. Thanks, coffee!
