Do Pothos Like Coffee Grounds?

Pothos is known as one of the plants that can grow quickly without much care. Not only this, but this plant can be fertilized by the coffee grounds left from your morning espresso. This means that you can grow beautiful Pothos without investing in expensive fertilizers. You can get a bag of coffee leftovers for free and use it to make a great mulch, compost, or fertilizer for your Pothos.

In this article, we will go through why Pothos like coffee grounds and how to use this natural fertilizer to grow a beautiful plant.

Do Pothos Like Coffee Grounds?

Yes, Pothos like coffee grounds because they are extremely rich in potassium and phosphorous, most notably nitrogen. In fact, nitrogen is an essential element for pothos growth, but the plant can’t absorb this nutrient from the atmosphere. Many people use coffee grounds as a natural fertilizer for Pothos and other plants.

Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen which is essential for the growth of any plant. However, too much acidity in the soil can be harmful to plants. So, if you are using coffee grounds as fertilizer for your Pothos, make sure to test the pH levels of the soil before adding them. Also, utilizing used coffee grounds instead of fresh bones is a better practice because they have a neutral ph level.

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Why Do Pothos Like Coffee Grounds?

Pothos like coffee grounds because they have many benefits for the health and growth of this plant. First, coffee grounds are a natural fertilizer that does not come with any chemicals or harmful substances that could damage your plant. Second, the high nitrogen levels in coffee grounds help promote pothos’ growth.

According to Penn State College of Agriculture Science, nitrogen deficiency can cause several problems for plants, such as yellow leaves, slow growth, and low chlorophyll synthesis. In fact, plants produce energy through photosynthesis, and Nitrogen is essential in this process. As a result, a lack of Nitrogen will impact your pothos growth negatively.

Pothos also like coffee grounds because they help regulate the soil’s acidity. In fact, the soil tends to become basic over time because of the presence of metal oxides. Adding an acidic fertilizer such as coffee grounds can help maintain the soil’s pH level at balance.

We should consider the pH level when adding coffee grounds to the soil. Sometimes the pH may be already acidic. In this case, we should not add coffee grounds to the soil as it will harm our plants.

Coffee grounds are also a good source of other minerals that contribute to the healthy growth of pothos, such as potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium.

I find coffee grounds an excellent substitute for expensive fertilizers that may harm your plant more harm than good. Generally, coffee grounds are not costly and available in all households. You just need to use them the right way to feed your pothos.

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How to Use Coffee Grounds to Fertilize Pothos?

As we mentioned above, coffee grounds are one of the best fertilizers that you can use to provide Pothos with their necessary nutrients. Additionally, this kind of fertilizer can replace expensive chemicals that sometimes harm your plants. However, using coffee grounds the right way and getting enough coffee grounds to fertilize your Pothos might seem challenging at first glance. This section will show you how to enjoy complimentary coffee grounds even if you don’t drink coffee at home. Then, we will take you over the step-by-step process we use to fertilize our Pothos with coffee grounds.

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How to Get Coffee Grounds for Free to Fertilize Your Plants?

If you are someone who drinks coffee regularly, you can use your coffee leftovers as a fertilizer. However, If you are not a coffee lover or have multiple plants and need a lot of coffee grounds, then I have a secret sauce for getting coffee grounds in abundance and for FREE!

What I do to get coffee grounds on demand is to ask the local coffee shops for their coffee leftovers. Generally, all the coffee shops use coffee grounds to make coffee drinks, and then, when they’re done with it, they throw them out.

In my experience, most local coffee shops accept to give their coffee leftovers for FREE, especially those of which you are a loyal customer.

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How to Fertilize Pothos Using Coffee Grounds? Step by Step

When I get my coffee leftovers from a local coffee shop, the first thing I tend to do is remove the coffee grounds from their bags and put them all in a tray, then mix them up and take the lumps out. You might want to use gloves when you do this if the coffee grounds do stay in your hands.

To apply the coffee grounds to your Pothos, you should wait until they reach an active stage of growth and then sprinkle the coffee grounds around the base of the plants. Later, when you water your Pothos or when it rains, the nutrients will leach down into the roots.

The best time to use coffee grounds to fertilize your Pothos is spring and summer. I wouldn’t advise adding any fertilizer in the autumn or wintertime because your Pothos will go dormant in those times of the year. Generally, if you encourage active growth in cold weather, it could damage your Pothos.

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How to Prepare an Organic Liquide Fertilizer For Your Pothos Using Coffee Grounds?

Pothos is known for giving good results when used as a liquid fertilizer. The good news is that you can prepare an organic liquid fertilizer at home for zero dollars using these grounds. You must take coffee grounds and water at first and mix them well until you get a homogeneous mixture. Then, keep the mixture in a closed bottle for three to four days.

After that, you should separate the coffee grounds from the mixed solution. Then, you can pour the solution into a spray bottle and start fertilizing your Pothos using a 100% organic liquid fertilizer. You can spray it on your Pothos or pour it at the bottom of it.

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What Are the Drawbacks of Using Coffee Grounds For Pothos?

In some cases, coffee grounds can be harmful to some plants. In fact, using fresh coffee grounds instead of leftovers can increase the soil’s acidity, which can hinder the growth of your Pothos. In most cases, coffee grounds are too acidic to be used directly on the soil, even for acid-loving plants like blueberries, azaleas, and hollies. Sometimes, coffee grounds can inhibit the growth of plants like geranium, asparagus, fern, chinese mustard, and Italian ryegrass.

If you don’t want to use coffee grounds for your plant, you can substitute them with tea as a fertilizer. You can do this by adding old tea leaves to the water you use for watering your plants. Before adding soil, you can also place a few used tea bags on the drainage layer. By doing so, the tea bags will help to retain water and leach some nutrients into the potting mix.

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Conclusion

If you want to increase the growth of your Pothos, then using coffee grounds is a great way to do it. You can either mix them in with the soil or use them to make a homemade liquid fertilizer. Make sure you are only adding a small amount at a time, as too much nitrogen can harm plants.

Coffee grounds can work wonders on Pothos, but some plants don’t like coffee grounds as much. Generally, non-acidic plants will not do well with this kind of fertilizer.

Finally, you should not stick 100% with coffee grounds as they are not the only option. There are many other types of fertilizers that you can use as well, like tea leaves, eggshells, and banana peels. Make sure that whatever fertilizer you choose contains nitrogen because this nutrient is essential for the growth of pothos plants.

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