How to care for Coffee Plant
Coffea arabica · Rubiaceae
Yes, this is the real coffee plant, grown indoors as a glossy shrub with deep-green, wavy-edged leaves. Mature, well-grown plants can even produce fragrant white flowers and red cherries after a few years. It's a thirsty understory species that tells you clearly — by wilting — when it wants water. Water roughly every 4 days while it's growing (about every 8 in winter), give it bright, indirect light, kept above 59°F (15°C) — it wants humid air.
Care at a glance
Keep the soil consistently lightly moist; it wilts dramatically when dry and repeated hard dry-outs brown the leaf edges.
Bright indirect light near an east window suits this understory plant; harsh midday sun scorches the glossy leaves.
Half-strength balanced fertilizer every two weeks; it appreciates slightly acidic soil.
Mistakes that kill this plant
- Letting it dry out over and over until branches die back.
- Cold exposure below about 15 C, which blackens the leaves.
- Hot direct sun through glass on its shade-adapted foliage.
Seasonal tips
- Raise humidity in winter and keep it away from radiators.
- Prune the tips in spring to keep it a bushy shrub rather than a lanky pole.
- Repot young plants annually in spring; they grow root systems fast.
Is it safe for pets?
We have Coffee Plant recorded as toxic to cats and dogs.
Full pet-safety details for cats & dogsCare for your Coffee Plant on autopilot
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Toxicity here is informational, not a safety guarantee. Those are our own records, compiled by following the ASPCA's published toxic and non-toxic plant lists and Pet Poison Helpline's plant poison list rather than copied from them — confirm anything that matters against Pet Poison Helpline's plant poison list, which this one is matched to, or with your vet. If your pet ingested this plant, contact your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.