Plant · P-934

Coffee Arabica

Coffea arabica

Coffee arabica is an evergreen shrub or small tree grown for its seeds roasted and brewed as coffee; naturally an understory tree of high-elevation humid tropical forest and does best in light shade with shading improving shoot growth though it reduces root development. Wants warm frost-free conditions with an optimal 14-28 C and tolerates 10-34 C; a short one-to-two month dry spell of under 50 mm rain per month helps trigger uniform flowering against an otherwise steady 1400-2300 mm annual rainfall. Needs deep friable well-drained soil - stiff clay and sandy soils are both unsuitable - in the pH 5.5-7 range with a wider 4.3-8.4 tolerance reported. Naturally reaches 3-10 m but cultivated and pruned plantings are usually kept to 2-5 m for hand picking. Propagated from seed sown within two months of harvest or by cuttings air layering and budding.