Plumerias are primarily grown because of their exquisite, beautiful flowers that range in many colors – from white, red, pink, yellow, and more.
They make good container plants, making any space more lively. But what would you do if they do not bloom as they intend to?
We know there is nothing more frustrating than having a non-blooming dazzling flowering plant. It is a pain to see a neighborhood of blooming Plumerias but not the one that is in your garden.
Enough of the worries because we got a solution for you!
In this article, we will show you how to remedy your problem with just a material that is available in your kitchen. Coffee grounds!
Let’s dive in and learn how your daily coffee grinds can make your garden of Plumeria look healthier and blossoming!
Getting To Know Plumeria
Plumerias, also commonly known as Frangipani and Lei flowers, are shrubs or small trees native to the tropics.
The dashing flowers are known to be used in traditional Hawaiian Leis, hence the common name. They are extremely fragrant and bloom from spring to fall in varied colors like white, red, pink, and yellow, among others.
Frangipanis are common container plants mainly because of the flowers that stand out among the evergreen foliage.
In gardens, they bring a vivid contrast of colors among green foliage.
Are Coffee Grounds Good For Your Plumeria Plants?
YES, coffee Grounds are GOOD for your Plumeria plants.
As quirky as it may sound, but gardening and coffee grounds actually go together. The packs of used coffee from your daily consumption or from your local coffee shop can make wonders in your garden.
Just like you, your coffee also has the ability to give your Plumeria plants a much-needed pick-me-up.
Coffee grounds are used as natural fertilizers. It is a great and innovative way of repurposing something that would just end up useless in landfills.
Let’s take a look at why coffee grounds are great for your Plumerias and why you should start saving your coffee grounds.
What Are The Known Benefits of Coffee Grounds To Plants?
Acidic Content
Your Plumerias thrive best in slightly acidic growing soils. The optimum range of soil pH that is best for your flowering plants is 6.4 to 6.8.
Coffee grounds can help you reach this acidity to an extent. However, they must be used with precaution because some coffee grounds are too acidic that they can make your pH level shoot below the optimum range.
Coffee grounds can help you in your gardening, especially if you are situated in alkaline areas. Your coffee grounds will help you increase your soil’s acidity levels by reducing its pH.
With a proper pH suitable for your plant, your plant will be happy and thriving in no time.
However, just a disclaimer, there is not enough scientific basis yet to prove the efficacy of coffee grounds, but gardeners all throughout the world have been using them for years and have been seeing positive results.
There is no harm in repurposing your coffee grounds but just make sure to NOT entirely rely on them for ground acidity.
One thing is for sure, though!
An optimum pH level aids the plant in the absorption of nutrients and minerals from the soil. The more suitable the soil pH, the better the plant can absorb the necessary plant food.
Just imagine what coffee grounds could do to your lovely Plumerias!
Organic Matter
Aside from providing acidity to soil, coffee grounds can also make your garden soil rich with organic nutrients.
They are heaping with nitrogen content. Hence they can be useful as compost for your Plumeria plants.
The addition of coffee grounds, along with other organic compost, can extremely help the soil.
Try to combine your grounds with your fertilizer to provide enough nitrogen to the soil where your Plumeria plants are growing.
Combining fertilizer and coffee grounds can give your Plumeria plants the boost they need.
They will grow taller and be encouraged to blossom more due to the high nitrogen content in their soil. You will see healthier and more vibrant, blossoming Plumerias in your garden.
Loose Soil
The coffee grounds do not just give your soil the proper nutrients, but also they make your growing soil looser and more aerated.
The loose soil is essential for your Plumerias because it allows better air and water circulation, making it well-draining and well-aerated.
Because your Plumeria plants love a well-draining growing medium, so your coffee grounds can be of great help.
They allow breathing space, thereby giving more oxygen to the roots. Plus, loose soil means prevention of waterlogging, which is the number one cause of root rot in plants.
Moreover, your coffee grounds also make sure that enough moisture is retained in the soil.
Plumeria plants grow best in moist soil, so adding coffee grounds will help you meet its necessary requirements.
Disease Avoidance
The coffee ground can also help in the avoidance of common plant diseases that have the potential to also harm your Plumeria plants.
Coffee grounds can aid in reducing the growth of many fungal rots and infections.
Your coffee grounds can do that because they also have their own healthy types of fungi and bacteria, thereby preventing the harmful species from proliferating on your plants or in the growing medium.
Just remember to add fertilizers to boost this effect. Coffee grounds cannot do this work alone.
However, to an extent, they can definitely limit harmful fungal and bacterial growth if utilized in certain quantities.
Other Known Uses of Coffee Grounds to Gardens
Aside from those mentioned above, your coffee grounds can also be utilized for other uses in your garden.
- A lot of gardeners use coffee grounds as mulch in their gardens.
- Coffee grounds are also used to keep snails and slugs away from pestering your plants. Caffeine negatively affects the pests, so they avoid the soil where there are coffee grounds.
- Coffee grounds are used as a cat repellent, thereby keeping cats from littering your flower beds.
- Coffee grounds are also used as worm food in vermicomposting. Worms love coffee grounds, so soil that is treated with them is always frequented by earthworms.
Are All Coffee Grounds Beneficial to Plumeria?
Organic coffee grounds are the best for your Plumeria plants as they ensure better nutrient absorption and decomposition.
You are also ensured that they are free from chemical compounds that can potentially harm your soil and plants instead of nurturing them.
It is essential for the grounds to have sufficient carbon, nitrogen, and carbohydrates.
These three organic chemicals can easily be decomposed over time by the microorganisms in the soil, making them available for consumption for your plants for health and structure.
When Is The Best Time To Add Coffee Grounds To Your Plumeria?
There is no perfect time to add your coffee grounds to your Plumeria plant. If you haven’t done it yet, then we say the best time to do it is now!
Generally, you should add your coffee grounds while you prepare the soil for planting or repotting your Plumeria plant.
Doing this gives your soil enough time to adhere and absorb the essential nutrients from your coffee grounds. Adding also kills harmful microorganisms in the soil before utilizing it for your plants.
At the very start of adding your coffee grounds, your soil get loosened up so that it can easily drain whatever excess water is present.
This protects your Plumeria plant from root rot and other fungal and bacterial diseases caused by excessive moisture.
Remember to add only a small amount at first when prepping up your soil medium.
Too much coffee grounds are unhealthy for your plants since they can make your soil too acidic. A small amount is enough to provide the organic nutrients needed by the plant.
Just a thin coat of coffee grounds, added to your fertilizer and other organic materials, will do wonders, not just for your Plumeria plants, but also for the entirety of your garden.
How Do You Prepare Your Coffee Grounds?
Now that you know the many benefits of adding coffee grounds to your garden soil, it is also important to know the correct way to prepare them before adding them to your garden.
Below are the following steps to prepare your coffee grounds:
(1) Only use small amounts of coffee grounds in your mix, especially if you are utilizing a compost mixture for the growing medium.
Anything above one-fifth of the mixture can be of harm to your soil and the plant as well, so be careful to stay within that limit.
(2) If you want to add the coffee grounds directly to the soil, spread a thin coat at first and then mix it up with other available organic materials like grass, barks, leaves, scrap papers, and many others that you can find.
(3) Alongside your coffee grounds, add your fertilizer so that you can be sure of the proper amount of nutrients for your plant.
Coffee grounds need to be decomposed at first in the soil in order to be used up by plants. This process can take time, so better to add additional nutrients first.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know how beneficial your coffee grounds can be to your Plumeria plants if prepared properly, it is now up to you to actually decide whether to use them or not.
You can discard your daily coffee wastes and render them useless in landfills, or repurpose them for the betterment, not just for your beautiful Lei flowers but also for your whole garden.
To sum things up, coffee grounds can make your garden soil healthier and more efficient for your plants.
They can provide necessary organic materials while also preventing common plant diseases and pests. That is only if they are used in small quantities and prepared correctly.
Always remember that too much of everything is detrimental, not just in using coffee grounds in your daily gardening, but also to life in general.
Moderation is always the key. Now go out there and feed your lovely Plumerias the right way!
We would love to hear from you in the comment section below. Don’t forget to write down your thoughts about using coffee grounds in gardening and share them with us!
Thank you for sharing useful information concerning plumeria. I have three and they are 3-4years old and haven’t bloomed. I haven’t fertilized them and am now getting on that. I have a question about the coffee grounds. Is it best to mix with water or to mix the dry into the soil?