How to (Properly) Water a Coffee Tree in a Container

Summary: Coffee trees enjoy consistent water and need to be watered deeply. This is proper watering. Water every few days, as the top few inches of soil dry out, and don't allow your plant sit in a dish of water for more than 15 minutes or so. 

Coffee Trees are Thirsty Plants

Proper watering is essential for coffee plants to really thrive. And life is busy, so it’s completely natural to be tempted to quickly dump a pitcher of water on them whenever the mood strikes, and forget about them until next time. But hear me out! Sometimes dumping it all in at once doesn’t allow the water to saturate all of the plant’s roots.

The water can end up pooling and only soaking into the top part of the soil, leaving the roots dry (not good). Or you might dump too much water in and the roots are left drowning in a pool for hours or even days (also not good).

To ensure you’re watering properly, it takes putting some extra love and attention into the chore of watering. For indoor potted coffee plants to thrive, they need to be given plenty of water. They also need to be watered deeply, and allowed to dry out a bit between “waterings” (to avoid root rot).

Watch your plants closely. If you notice it stops growing new leaves, it’s very possible that it needs more water. It could also mean that it needs more light or nutrients; However, I’ve noticed that consistent water often appears to be what really drives new growth on my potted coffee trees.

Looking to a plant’s natural habitat is the best way to determine what kind of care it needs.

Coffee plants grow in tropical environments where humidity is high and it rains often and in heavy quantities.

However, in nature or a farm setting, ideal average rainfall for a coffee tree is different from the amount of water needed in a container environment. Since there is no ground connected to an ecosystem that helps capture and maintain moisture in container gardening, your goal is to keep the plant happily moist, allowing the roots to breathe between waterings, and never letting the soil dry out completely.

Video About How Much Coffee Loves Water:

How to Best Water a Coffee Tree

To water a potted coffee plant, use a watering can with a spout and water from the top of the soil.

I recommend watering from the top of the soil because it mimics how rain would absorb into the soil in nature.

Also water in stages, until water flows out of the bottom of the pot and into the catch dish.

What do I mean by stages? Simply saturate the top of the soil with a bit of water at first; let that seep in for a few minutes; then pour some more water on top, letting that seep in for a few minutes; and by the third time I pour water in, after a few minutes, I usually start to see water coming out of the bottom of the pot and filling up the catch dish. This is deep watering. Gradually saturating the soil from top to bottom.

Once the catch dish has water in it, you can let the plant sit there and soak for up to 15 minutes.

If the coffee tree is growing and thirsty it will soak up all the water, after which you can give it more water until it comes out of the catch tray again. But if after 15 minutes of sitting with water in the catch tray the plant has stopped drinking, it’s time to remove that water because it starts to pose a health risk to the tree (which needs moist, aerated soil instead of water logged soil that could suffocate roots).

Time out! Is all of this really necessary?

As in, do I, myself, always water my coffee plants like this? Heck no! As I said earlier, life is busy. Sometimes I notice a brown leaf and half-consciously dump a cup of water in. However, equipped with an understanding of what is best for the plant, I naturally try my best to water deeply and with care to my best abilities.

How Often to Water a Coffee Plant

Allow the top 1-3 inches of soil to dry out before watering deeply once again. I tend to water mine every 2-3 days in warm summer months, and every 3-5 days in winter. (It really depends on your container size, container material, and your overall environment’s temperature, humidity, and sunlight levels. Plants in ceramic pots dry out more quickly so I tend to water those ones more often).

Be careful not to let the entire soil dry out completely. Dry soil can be OK, but bone-dry all the way through is a no-no. Once a container plant’s soil dries out completely it can be very difficult to re-saturate again. Try not to let this happen.

When to Refrain from Watering

If you notice that new growth (leaves) are turning brown and dying AND the soil has been consistently wet, this could indicate over-watering. Giving more water in this situation could cause the plant to develop a fungal infection from too much moisture, and these can be very difficult to control, so best to refrain from watering, let the soil dry out considerably for up to a week or so even, and then water deeply once again.

Tips for Watering

Don’t worry. To be honest, it’s kind of difficult to over-water a coffee tree if there’s good drainage. As long as the soil isn’t soaking wet all the time, and the plant is never sitting in a pool of water for more than 15 minutes or so, giving it a drink is always, probably fine. (One other thing about coffee growing in nature is that high elevation regions have more cloud cover, which brings more moisture; And cooler nights followed by the hot mornings attract a great deal of condensation, which brings even more water). In short, water is good for coffee.

Misting the leaves, trunk and the top of the soil with water is a good idea. For more about misting coffee plants, see “To Mist or Not to Mist?“.

What About the Dry Season? (Winter)

In Canada, where I’m growing, we call our two main seasons “summer” and “winter”.

In tropical, coffee producing regions the two main seasons are called “dry season” (our winter) and “wet season” (our summer). In wet season, as you could have guessed, it rains more often. In dry season, it rains less, but it still rains and there’s still moisture in the environment. Both seasons are warm.

What all of this means is that it’s good practice to water more often in summer and less often in winter.

This strategy mimics coffee’s natural environment. And it’s also good in Canada, for example, because our winters get really cold and coffee trees do NOT like being wet and cold.

Dry, Brown Leaves Are Sometimes Unavoidable

If you’re growing coffee indoors in a dry, or colder region (with below 10°C winter temperatures), then unfortunately dry, brown leaves will be pretty much unavoidable. Unless you have some sort of highly specialized moisture- and temperature-controlled indoor situation you just won’t be able to provide enough humidity to keep an Arabica coffee plant thriving during the driest seasons.

Don’t stress about it. Just do what you can to increase humidity. And know that even in nature, coffee trees shed their foliage slowly over time from the bottom upwards. So it’s also natural.

Winters in Canada are rough on my coffee plants. Some of them lose up to 50% of their leaves. But once spring hits and I can move them back outside to the greenhouse they grow green and lush again.

During winter, I tend to pay more attention to my coffee plant’s moisture levels; Watering them deeply, albeit less often, making sure the soil doesn’t become dried for too long, moving them away from any indoor heater, using a humidifier, and misting as often as possible.

What About Fruiting and Flowering Time?

In terms of watering during flowering and fruiting periods, uniform flowering requires consistent water.

So even though my trees tend to flower in April, (which is a bit early for the more frequent summer waterings to start), I begin watering more often as soon as the buds appear and make sure the soil stays relatively more moist. Drying out too much at this stage can cause developing buds and fruit to spoil before maturity.

(By the way, if you have flowers and fruits on a potted coffee tree, Congratulations! That’s not easy, as it requires patience, a mastering of a plants moisture needs, and a bit of luck.)