Typically, the geography of the coffee plant is in a tropical 25 degree latitude belt on both sides of the equator. The Arabica coffee plant grows best at altitudes between 3000 and 6000 feet. Coffee plants can be grown at lower altitude but attack from various parasites cause problems which make low altitude cultivation hard.
Desirable temperature averages between 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The Arabica coffee plant will grow in hotter areas but is not well suited for higher temperature. The Robusta coffee plant is typically located in hotter and more humid areas at lower altitudes around 600 to 1500 feet. Frost will kill every variety of coffee plant known. Thus, it limits the altitude and latitude at which this plant can thrive. The coffee plant is susceptible to changes in temperature. Temperature affects the color of the coffee leaf, the hotter the lighter the color green. The longer periods of deep green, the healthier the coffee plant.
Generally, the coffee growing area takes at least 75 inches of rain fall per year. The rainfall should be spread over a 9 month period, with about 2-3 months of only a few inches of rain. The dry spell is needed to allow coffee buds, flowering, and new growth. Erosion aside, the coffee plant will grow well with much more water so long as it does not sit in water. In areas with less than 75 inches per year, careful irrigation can provide adequate water for the coffee plant.
The soil where a coffee plant grows should be humus, generally porous, and a slight tendency toward acid but more or less a neutral pH. Coffee plants can grow in slightly alkaline soil. But too much acid or alkaline will kill the coffee plant. Additionally, there is a preference for pH which depends on the type of coffee plant. Mulching the surface with grass, compost, or vegetable refuse is common ways to help facilitate growth of the coffee plant. Preferably coffee plant soil is heavy to work and not too loose and sandy. Very generally speaking, the planting conditions of the coffee plant are similar as for a camellia. The coffee plant doesn't like hard pack soil or sitting in water for long periods of time. The coffee plant's subsoil should stay moist but not soggy as to promote rot. The coffee plant's roots breath and actually need some air. Thus, constant watering of the coffee plant, or the coffee plant sitting in water, causes the leaves to turn yellow, young shoots wilt, and the coffee tree dies.
The coffee plant likes high humidity of about 90 percent. The humidity in the air performs two functions for the coffee plant, one is to keep evaporation from the coffee plant at a minimum, the other is to diffuse the light striking the coffee plant.
Coffee plants like filtered to moderate sun light. Coffee grows on sides of mountains which makes for natural partial lighting conditions. However, some types of coffee plants can take direct sun light without overhead shade trees or a mountain side cutting off a half days light. And again, this differs with coffee plant types. There are four kinds of shade; temporary, permanent, forest, and soil shade. Bare soil loses its richness and character by being baked by the sun and beat on by the rain. If the sun bakes the top soil too much, the coffee plant's roots die. Therefore, for most coffee plants, the soil should be shaded as much as possible. Both mulch and the way the coffee plant is cropped accomplish this task. In some places cover crops as Leucaena glauca are planted between the coffee trees to keep the soil in good shape. Depending on plant, the leaves may need shade too. The coffee plant generally requires some direct sun light for a portion of the day, so total permanent shade is not a good practice. Forest shade has a problem with the type of plants surrounding the coffee tree. The wrong type of forest plants can take nutrients from the soil or actually strangle the coffee plant.
The coffee plant does not do well in high wind either. Wind dries the leaves out quickly. Consequently, the drying effect, quick temperature changes, and the transportation of unwanted seeds makes windy conditions undesirable for coffee growing.
Typically, the coffee plant can produce berries for about 60 years but most commercial coffee operations limit the life of the coffee plant to about 20 years. Some coffee growers feel earlier termination is appropriate. Although the coffee tree produces berries at the age of 3, it starts producing at about 5 years old.
The two basic propagation methods both work with the coffee plant, grown from seeds, or cloned from cuttings. Seeds take about 5 to 6 weeks to germinate. Tender shoots require more shade. Generally, the cuttings, or seedlings are nurtured in a nursery before being planted in the field. A general rule of thumb is plant the seedling when it has more than four and less than eight branch pairs, which tends to be 5 to 6 months. Coffee plants can be grafted. Grafting tends to adapt a plant for growing conditions and disease resistance, although it is not a common practice. It should be noted that the coffee seed will not remain fertile for long periods of time. Due to the pulpy nature of the berry, the seed either starts to germinate when it is removed from the tree or it ferments and rots.
Coffee growers refer to pruning as training. Exactly how the coffee plant is trained depends on the type of coffee plant, the environment, and the labor. The coffee plant branches can become so heavy with berries that they break, so it is important to train the coffee plant such that it is strong enough. From time to time, the coffee plant gets too large of root system for the soil conditions or the middle lateral branches become damaged, so the coffee plant is trunked. Trunking the coffee plant is cutting it way back, right down to where only two branches near the bottom are left on it.
