Coffea Arabica seeds

[Reynevan]

Hi there,

 

I've recently obtained dozens of Coffee seeds from Coffee roaster shop. They sort of started to germinate during first 24 hours in water. They lost their colour during flooding, from yellow to pure white.

But when I sown them in soil, they started to turn  greenish, they are now totally covered in  green dye. They also stopped to germinate from what I can see. It looked better when they were in water than now in soil.

Do you have any advices on coffee germination ? Thank you.

[Cindy Adair]

Hmmm... I have germinated a fair number of coffee seeds but never experienced what you describe. Mine were always gotten from cherries off the trees and soaked only enough to remove all the flesh which usually speeds up germination.

I changed the water daily for maybe 3-4 days. Then I planted them at about the same depth as their width in normal potting soil that was moist, but not soggy.

Warmth is important just like in the climate where they grow well. Covering the entire pot in a clear plastic bag with a rubber band securing it to the pot helps maintain the proper soil moisture, but remove it once the seeds germinate and don't cook them in full sun.

They usually germinate for me in 2-3 weeks and in Puerto Rico no need for a plastic bag cover.

I do recall in less ideal conditions in Virginia, sometimes the first leaves would never emerge and I would lose that seedling. I blamed this on lower humidity as it only happened in the winter when the air in my greenhouse was too dry.

Please post some photos and perhaps I can understand your problem better. Good luck! They are fun to grow and will bloom and bear fruit in pots if you are patient.