Plant of the Month: April 2026

Title image above is copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos

First published 1st April 2026

Family: Rubiaceae (includes Cinchona (source of quinine) and Gardenia)
Genus: Coffea (includes Coffea canephora, the ‘Robusta’ coffee)

Botanical/Binomial Name: Coffea arabica
Meaning of Name:
Coffea, from New Latin, from European common words for coffee, from Arabic قَهْوَة (qahwa); and
arabica, from Latin arabica (feminine form of arabicus, ‘Arabic’) of or pertaining to Arabs or Arabia

Common Name: Arabica coffee

Botanical Characteristics: Woody | Perennial | Evergreen | Self-Pollinating | Frost tender
Propagation: Cuttings | Seed

Plant Description:
This is the Arabica type, the most popular in coffee production and which accounts for about 60% of the global commercial crop. (‘Robusta’ makes up the remainder.)

These seedlings will grow into stunning bushy ornamental plants about 2–3 m high, or can be pruned to 2 m or less. They make fantastic houseplants, and if outside, do best in shadier spots.

They will fruit in 2–3 years for you to experiment making your own coffee!

Or eat the ripe red ‘cherries’ straight off the tree for something different! They don’t taste like coffee but the flesh does contain caffeine and has a pleasant, somewhat sweet taste.

Each cherry contains two seeds (sometimes you may get one) and you won’t get seeds any fresher than those! Grow your own trees by sowing those super-fresh seeds then and there for seedlings to appear in spring — seeds sown fresh germinate readily.

Growing Information:
Coffee is an understorey tree and likes shade or dappled light and cool temperatures. Morning sun is better than afternoon sun if they must be in a sunny spot. The leaves will scorch and the whole plant will show signs of wilting in full summer sun. They also make great houseplants near a window that doesn’t get direct sunlight, but avoid drafts.

Coffee likes a rich, fertile, slightly acidic soil with plenty of water but good drainage. They can be kept in pots, in which case a high quality regular potting mix will cover all bases. The ones with Osmocote® will feed the plants for about 6 months.