Do Cacti Like Coffee Grounds

Do Cacti Like Coffee Grounds? 11 Amazing Discoveries!

Cactus are among the simple plants that are easy to maintain. Your cacti will continue to flourish with the right amount of water, soil, and sunlight. 

By nature, coffee grounds contain essential nutrients that allow plants to grow healthily. They also contain some properties that prevent pests from attacking your garden plants. This makes them an environmentally friendly way to protect your cactus from potential insect invasions.

Planting your cactus in a garden filled with coffee grounds sounds like a great plan. But do cacti like coffee grounds?

Do Cacti Like Coffee Grounds

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The answer is no. Cacti do not like coffee grounds because they contain caffeine that may prevent their growth. 

Besides, the coffee grounds can make your cactus absorb more water, which is bad for their growth. 

We believe you now have a little idea of why coffee grounds are not good for your cacti. In this article, we will explain in detail why you should plant your cactus in other places.

Just keep on reading!

What Are The Properties Of Coffee Grounds?

As we’ve mentioned earlier, coffee grounds contain certain nutrients that are beneficial for plant growth. Many people use coffee grounds as fertilizer on their soil as it is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and more. Not only does it add organic matter to the soil, but it also improves water retention and aeration. 

Coffee grounds also contain too much acid, which can increase the soil acidity level or change its PH. While an increase in the soil acidity or a change in PH may help some plants, it may destroy others. 

Therefore, it is important to consider the acidity level of your soil before pouring coffee grounds on it. 

How Do Coffee Grounds Affect the Cactus Soil?

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Even though coffee grounds are useful for some plants, they are not beneficial for cacti.

Here are the 2 reasons you should avoid planting your cacti on the coffee grounds:

1. Coffee Grounds Can Make Cacti Absorb Excess Water

Cacti do not need much water because they are desert plants. That’s why you should never plant them in soil that doesn’t drain well. 

For cacti to grow, their soil component is always a combination of organic and inorganic materials. Coffee grounds are organic materials that can change the normal balance of the cactus soil. 

Hence, they tend to make your cactus retain more water than usual. This could prevent these plants from growing, making them weak and unhealthy. 

2. Caffeine Is Bad For Cacti

Using coffee grounds for your cacti exposes the plants to caffeine, which is not good for them. Excess caffeine can prevent your cacti from growing or even harming them. 

Naturally, caffeine is produced by coffee plants to prevent other plants from growing in their environment. It allows the coffee trees to take over a particular environment, thereby killing other plants that want to compete for space. 

Therefore, pouring coffee grounds on your cactus will likely expose them to harm.

What Other Plants Do Not Like Coffee Grounds?

Apart from cactus, some other plants do not like coffee grounds. Since coffee grounds have high acidity levels, these plants can not survive on them.

Here are 4 plants you should not add coffee grounds to:

1. Orchids

Although the nitrogen component in coffee grounds benefits some plants, it can cause harm to orchids. This is because they lack the organisms that break down nitrogen. Applying even small coffee grounds to these plants can cause their roots to rot. 

2. Pothos

Neon Pothos vs Lemon Lime Philodendron

Like cacti, orchids are simple plants that are easy to maintain. Applying coffee grounds to pothos will damage the plants because they can’t survive in acidic soils. 

But if your soil has low acidity, you can add a little coffee grounds to it. Consider checking your soil’s PH level before adding coffee grounds to it.

3. Lavender

Lavender plants do not thrive well in highly acidic soil, so avoid adding coffee grounds to it. These plants only grow well in environments with full sun and with dry, sandy, alkaline soil. 

Also, avoid planting lavender in pots with no drainage holes to allow them to survive.

4. Rosemary

Although your rosemary plants can get some nutrients from coffee grounds, they do not like acidic soil. To reduce the acidity of the coffee grounds, you can dilute them with lots of water before adding them to your rosemary. 

Which Plants Like Coffee Grounds?

Even though coffee grounds are not beneficial to some plants, other plants need their nutrients to thrive. 

Below are 4 plants that derive nutrients from coffee grounds:

1. Tomatoes

There’s no reason you should not add coffee grounds to your tomatoes, as they are acidic fruits. These fruits will gain lots of nutrients and also benefit from the coffee grounds’ acidic properties. 

2. Gardenia

Gardenias are among the plants that can withstand low temperatures. Besides, they are tolerable, which means adding coffee grounds to them is not a bad idea.

3. Sweet Potatoes

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Adding coffee plants to your sweet potatoes will make your harvest numerous and healthy. This is because sweet potatoes are known to flourish on acidic soils. 

3. Holly

Another plant that can handle acidic soil is holly. If you have a few in your garden, do not hesitate to add coffee grounds to them. In the long run, you will be glad you made the decision.

Also read: Syngonium Neon Robusta Care

Final Thoughts

Spreading coffee grounds in your garden sounds like an amazing plan, but you need to be careful. Coffee grounds and cacti are not the best combinations because the plants do not like them. 

Of course, coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen and highly acidic, which means you can use them for your tomatoes and sweet potatoes.

On the other hand, plants like orchids, pothos, rosemary, and pothos may not survive if you add coffee grounds to them. 

Finally, always remember to test the acidity levels of your soil before spreading coffee grounds on it. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Succulents Like Coffee Grounds?

Yes, succulents like coffee grounds because they help the plants grow and develop quickly. They also improve the succulents’ soil richness and increase aeration and drainage. 

Furthermore, coffee grounds increase the organic matter in succulents’ soil, which provides them with more nutrients and minerals for growth. 

But before you add coffee grounds to your succulents, you need to consider some factors. They include the type and quantity of the coffee grounds. 

Will Coffee Grounds Harm Plants?

Well, it depends on the type of plants you want to add it to and the acidity level of your garden soil. Some plants do not grow well in highly acidic soils, while others can benefit from the acidity of coffee grounds.

Some of the plants that can survive on acidic soils include carrots, radishes, roses, blueberries, and lilies.

So, before you start spraying coffee grounds on your soil, test its acidity levels. And if you want to add coffee grounds to your soil, do not add too much. 

Will Coffee Grounds Repel Or Attract Pests to Your Garden?

Coffee grounds have a strong smell that repels pests such as snails, rabbits, and squirrels from your garden plants. So if you notice pests are feeding on your plants, spray a little coffee ground around the plants to chase them away.

However, you cannot get rid of worms in your garden because they eat coffee grounds. On the bright side, the worms’ poop contains properties that help to enrich your soil. 

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