Back in March, I noticed some growths on my Coffea arabica that looked like they might be flower buds, and got all excited about this, both because it was a sign that the plant was happy and because I'd never smelled the flowers before and was looking forward to finding out what that was like.
Unfortunately, at some point in early to mid-May, the plant flowered and I missed the whole thing. I didn't know about it until I pulled the plant out of the corner to water it and found dried flowers still clinging to the stems:
The dried flowers had no odor I could detect, so I still don't know what Coffea flowers smell like. Not firsthand, anyway. (Secondhand, I hear they're similar to jasmine.) There will be other opportunities, obviously. It's just frustrating to get so close and then miss it.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Random plant event: Coffea arabica
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7 comments:
Ooh, I keep forgetting to send you an update! BOTH my coffee plants have flowered and are producing lots of berries this year! Quite exciting compared to the single berry we harvested last September. Fertilizing seems to be the key -- I was away sick all last summer and the girl watering my plants didnt' fertilize at all. I'll wait until the beans turn red so that the picture will have more contrast.
Oh, and yes, they do smell a bit like jasmine, though nowhere near as strong or heady.
Oh dang! That's a bummer!
I've read your past post about this coffee when it was still a seedling, i didn't know it will really flower in temperate climates. We have lots of coffee trees in the farm and we are making our own coffee if we have time.
Not gonna lie, I've never once been able to pick up any smell from a coffee plant and I've seen quite a few blooming.
Who would have thought that you weren't obsessive enough about your plants? ;O)
For Andrea: I've been trying to google how to harvest the berries to make coffee but I'm still not sure how many beans you actually need to make a decent cuppa! Do you know? p.s. our temperate climate is my 3rd floor south-facing office! :-)
For Tom: I pretty much have to bury my nose in the plant to notice the smell.
Mr. S: Check for beans in about a month or so.
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