Coffee can be grown outdoors without cold protection only in frost-free climates. In most climates it can thrive in a pot, but must be protected during low temperatures or brought indoors. On the other hand, it also does well as a house plant as long as it receives bright, indirect light.
The plant’s ideal temperature is from the low 60s to mid-70s. That range produces the best and most fruit. It can make good fruit in a range a good deal wider than that but a consistent 85 degrees or higher will yield fruit that is of poor quality for roasting.
Coffee wants little or no direct sunlight. It prefers bright, indirect light or, if outdoors, the dappled sunlight under trees. Indoors, coffee trees should be sited in bright indirect light and out of the breeze from heating and cooling vents.
The soil should be kept lightly moist but not soggy. Our soil is very well drained, with a pH around 6.5. The mixture contains slow-release fertilizer and minerals to keep the plant well fed for 6 months from the date on the tag. After that it can be fed for a while with a liquid fertilizer but you should be thinking about up-potting the tree soon. Growing mediums are all organic material and therefore start to collapse eventually. Trees kept too long in their pots will grow slowly and be more susceptible to pests and diseases.
Like all plants, coffee is susceptible to certain pests. If your plant is grown indoors, it will be pretty well protected from most pests but not totally. Aphids and scale insects can sometimes attack coffee, as well as most plants. They are easy to spot and there are many ways to deal with them. It is easy to find a plethora of information and choose your method, in the unlikely event it becomes necessary.
The biggest pest of coffee worldwide is fungus, which spreads by spores and is all over the world. Though unlikely, it is not impossible for some spores to find your indoor trees. The best treatment for that is early detection and elimination of any leaves with signs of fungus, i.e. yellow spots with matching spots on the underside of the leaf or necrotic spots that eat through the leaf. Discard any such leaves in a plastic bag and make sure your tree has good air circulation and that the leaves are not wet for long periods.
