Never bugged Starbucks before... maybe I'll do that next time I am there for a venti-latte-espresso-grande-iced-chai-frappucino.
Although I usually collect the home-brewed used grounds for a couple days in an empty coffee can. Then before it starts to breed molds, I fill up the can with water, take it outside and pour it around the roses, or the gardenia, or someplace that could use it. Then start the process over again. :)

You don't have to bug any Starbucks people in the Lakeland area. All the stores have a pail where they bag the grounds for you and give it away without asking for it. My closest store usually has around 6 to 8 bags that weight about 7 pounds each in the pail for people to take. I used to just go in and get it but now I buy a Frappichino every once in a while. every once in a while they have a bag in the pail marked "Expreso" which have only expreso beans in that bag, which is twice as strong as what is in the regular bags.
I use it to kill scales and mealy bugs on many species of cycads. I use it on the bambusa species (bamboo) as a mulch to kill the mealies in the soil, which used to show up on newly emerging culms in the Summer. I also brew the grounds up in a rain barrel from the sun and use that in my pump sprayer for topical insect control. I am using it on about 3000 plants of various types and have not had to buy any insecticide for almost 2 years now.
Also, for what its worth, even though I don't grow gardenias, the best looking gardinia I have ever seen was in a large pot and had a half inch of grounds as a mulch.

Who knew? We must throw out 5 filters full of coffeegrounds at my work place every day (I don't drink coffee myself, tho), and I had never thought of using them in the garden. I do occasionally sprinkle some on the plants at work, so why not at home? Good idea, you guys! Thank you! I'm going to start a "coffee grounds recycling bin" at work. I'm sure my garden will be grateful! What a great way to recycle!!

Now, here's a question. I drink a lot of brewed tea. Am I safe in assuming that tea grounds would also be good for my acid-loving plants?

Oh yes, tea is great too. ;o)

Thanks, katkin!!! My goodness, I thought I was the only one in the world awake at this hour on a Saturday morning! Nice to meet ya!

I'm a biiiig coffee drinker. I keep a small plastic bucket on the counter to dump all my grounds into. Honestly, sometimes, I end up with more than I can use. The grounds go on the gardenias, the roses and also my new camellia. :)

Here is a copy of the article I wrote for The Cycad Newsletter's December issue:

http://www.cycad.org/Documents/Broome-Coffee-2007.pdf

Not only will old tea leaves also kill insects, but they can work as a pre-emergent herbicide as well, if they are accumulated in enough quantity and used as a mulch.

So, can coffee grounds be used on any plant?
We throw out quiet a bit at my work as well.
Maybe I should be bagging it and bringing home?
But I don't grow Hydrangea, Gardenia, Camellia or Rose's.

Tropicalfreak

:o),,,nice to meet you too, wildworldwoman, even if I am late getting back at ya!

Coffee and tea make great soil improvers for any plant, but especially the acid lovers. Also banana peels.

We keep a plastic coffee container in the kitchen into which we place all kitchen scraps (coffee, tea bags, fruit & veggie skins & leftovers).
We typically dump it 2-3 times a week into our compost bin, turn occasionally, and have great compost for veggie garden and general soil ammendment. We rinse out with rainwater from rainbarrel afterwards and don't have any odor problems. Check out the many compost websites and forums. Plus, it's free!

I don't go out of my way, but if I have to pass by SB, I stop in and ask for all the grounds they've got. I take all the bagged silver bags they have ready, but I also ask for their plastic trash bag where they throw most of their grounds out. I also ask if they have any already used espresso 'pucks' in their espresso machine. I am really greedy when it comes to used coffee grounds! I usually leave with at least 30 pounds or more at a time. Not all the stores are so willing to oblige, but I frequent one, mainly because they are so generous, and another is almost as good. Last year, to thank them, I took them some chocolate at Christmas time. I think that helped also!

I can never, ever have too many grounds. I use them on every plant I want to give a little TLC. Great stuff. They are also getting a reputation for being a snail and slug repellent. I am going to start placing them around my most snail prone plants to see.

Anna

I also use them on many plants. I bring them home from work as well as collect my own. They have done wonders for my Hibiscus.
Cherie

I use them from home, but I hadn't thought about getting them from Starbuck's, I'll have to try that.

And if they keep the snails & slugs away that is a bonus. Cherie, you said they did wonders for the hibiscus, do they also keep the gall midge at bay? If that is the case I'll run to Starbucks. lol

Ahhhh, when light bulbs go on and new ideas are adopted! I can't think of anything but coffee grounds and tea leaves this morning. LOL! I've already set up a "used tea bag" receptacle in the kitchen, which I'll add to the garden/compost pile every few days. And tomorrow I'll set one up at work for the coffee grounds.

And, as if that weren't enough, they are also good for insect control? Jeeees Louise, this is handy-dandy info! Have a wonder-full day, ya'll!

Olya, your hydrangeas are lovely. It is so cool to be able to control the flower color with pH adjustments.

Wow, Tom, terrific article. I had a scale infestation of my Zamia furfuraceae and used neem to saturate the leaves and ground and Kirks to hand wash all the scale off each frond. It took hours but the scale didn't return. I much prefer your method with the coffee. Do you think it would work on palms for mealy bugs? I have a Kentia palm in a large pot in my house and am always having to clean off the mealy bugs. I'm going to try the coffee.

Julie in WPB

Julie, lot of times the palms in the house get bugs due to not enough air circulation like the winds they would get if outside. Do you have a fan you could use in the room the palms are in?

So you guys should love this... Last year in our offices, we started to notice a terrible smell, like something was rotten. Since our offices are in a trailer, I suspected it might be from underneath. But it went on for a few days and finally I located it to a palm in the front lobby. It seems that one of our people had heard that coffee was good for plants and was dumping the excess in the plant from his cup each day. Problem was, he used cream and sugar in his coffee! Poor plant nearly died. I replaced the soil in the pot and it seems OK now. I still tease him about it.

M

Does anyone know if coffee grounds can be used on staghorns? I have 12 of the 18 different kinds & some are more prone to insects & fungus than others. Any ideas are greatley appreciated.
SJ

Hi Katkin:

I'll have to try the fan, too. I used to use one on my orchids when I kept them indoors, but now I keep them outside until they are blooming. All kinds of scale seem to be a particular problem for me. And spider mites... And thrips... and Sri Lanka weevils... Leaf miners... (I could go on and on.) The whole Phylum Arthropoda has my address. I won't even mention the mollusks.

Julie in WPB

The coffee works on the insects I have mentioned. It doesn't matter what plant they are on, it works on everything. The used coffee grounds are good because they are not all that acid compared to fresh brewed coffee. I have noticed systemic qualities in this and it is possible that you could mulch the soil and that would kill the mealy bugs. However, the only problem I have seen is when your plants are in wet areas, like really wet greenhouses, the tends to get mold on the soil surface and sometimes you could get fungus knats or something nasty like that. If anyone has a problem but thinks they are in that situation, or with that staghorn that might be touchy, I'd go with the spraying method and just make up a batch of spray and then hit the bugs directly. Mealy bugs are easy to kill and coffee spray pretty much kills them on contact, or closely afterwards. Some of this stuff I would play by ear and see how it goes. You also obviously don't need to make up a whole barrel of spray like I did. One pound of old coffee grounds would probably make about 10 gallons of spray and I have bagged up some grounds in a sleve (could use old panty hose) and you can just put that in a bucket and let that sit for a week and you have a bucket full of spray. I know people who have read my article that have used it on orchids, bromeliads, clivias, palms, bamboo, Oputias, and on many different bushes and it didn't hurt anything and killed what they were wanting to kill.

WE are huge tea drinkers, we drink probably 2 1/2-3 gallons a day in my home. How would you re-use the tea bags? Let them dry, cut them open and sprinkle the used dried leaves around the plants as a "mulch"?

Bihai, another huge tea drinker here (drinking now!)
I collect water when I wash dishes (whenever I do not use soap, for example when rinsing ) . To collected water, I add tea bags - open them up and add both the tea and the torn bag. Then I use this water for watering

Olya

Katkin, I don't about the gall midge, but my Hibiscus are blooming again. The buds used to just fall off before opening.

I never thought about spraying my plants with diluted coffee from used grounds but I am going to give it a try as I have recently discovered scale on a few plants. Thanks for the idea! I may give it a try on my orchids as well, but will do a test first.

Hello,
Just drifted over from the Cacti forum. Has anyone used coffee grounds on their cacti? I have some pest problems, ants mainly. Will coffee discourage ants?
Jim

Jim, I was brought over to do a talk on cycads in Arizona a couple of months ago, and a person who attended also had heard my coffee grounds talk at the Huntington last June and tried it on his cacti. He said that there is a native Opuntia that has those purple pads (violacia?)that is being destroyed by a particular scale and after one application, his plants have been clean. He is using it now on everything that gets insects now.
In my experiments, it didn't do much to ants. I covered the holes, made them swim in it in a bucket, etc, and nothing. It seems like it only kills these lower insect forms and it doesn't seem to hurt the higher forms, which actually, is good, because it doesn't hurt beneficial insects like bees.

I have no access to Starbucks, and don't drink coffee... do you all suppose that instant coffee would work too? Also,has anyone experienced coffee killing white flies and their larvae? Thanks for your help!

Interesting point, petunialee. I'm not sure if the caffeine is the pest-repellent, or if the microbe stimulation from the coffee remains is what lets the plant resist the pests. In any case, I would not spend the money on coffee, decaffeinated or otherwise unless you drink it. There are sure to be local businesses in your area with which you can develop a relationship. In my quest for supporting local businesses (new years' resolution 2008), I patronize and get most of my grounds now from the neighborhood coffee shop that opened a couple of months ago. I still get grounds from SB if I pass by, but my point is that any business that sells/makes coffee could be your supplier. Krispy Creme? Neighborhood breakfast joint? At the office? Let your imagination roll and tap all your sources. Don't be embarrassed, you are not doing anything wrong, you are assisting others to be better to the planet while you help your garden as well. Win-win.

Anna

Anna,

You have just inspired me to go tomorrow to the new local breakfast/sandwich place and ask for their coffee grounds. I've avoided the whole starbucks thing because I'm not interested in a $5 cup of coffee, but I'm totally into a pastry from the new little place. And then I can get their coffee grounds and get them into the idea of recycling this stuff and maybe even showing up at the green market/local food market this winter.

They're on my way to work, no excuses tomorrow.

thanks
susannah

I don't drink coffee, and Starbuck's isn't close, but I do use all of my tea bags. I use the tea bags around my acid loving plants. I also put egg shells around the base of plants. I remember one of my grandmothers doing this many moons ago. She had a cottage near Lake Geneva Wisconsin and had beautiful hydrangeas and peonies. She was a snow bird in the 1940's. My father had a funny store about her riding with a friend from Wisconsin to Miami. Of course, this was before there were expressways. The friend drove so slow that all sorts of cars were backed up behind them and drivers were honking and yelling "Lady, get off the road". Back then it used to take 3 days of a good driver driving from Chicago to St Pete. I wonder how many days it took them from Wisconsin to Miami. Wish I had a time machine.

My grandparents on the other side were great with plants too. They are the ones who started the family exodus to Florida in 1958. I guess gardening is in my blood.

I admit that I am a little hesitant to ask, plus I have just a few pots. Thanks Anna anyway.

My husband picks up a coffee at 7-11 occasionally and has gotten to know some of the people working there. He asked about the coffee grounds and they said 'just bring a bag'.. He had me print out the article from cycadjungle' and he took it in to them. Now the coffee grounds are living at THEIR houses. lol.

cyadjungle ~ I oould not pull up your pdf file. I even just went to the cyad website and couldn't find it there. I would love to read it. I copied and pasted the web addy you gave here and kept getting http 404 webpage cannot be found.

FlowerLady

Anna and company, your stories and comments are very inspiring. I think I'll go ask the neighbourhood coffee hangout today. Thanks!

http://www.cycad.org/education.htm

Flowerlady, here is a working link to the article. At least, it works when I try it.