I put some coffee grounds around the base of my Loquat tree a week or two back and now many of the leaves are turning yellow. This is the first spring the tree has been planted and many trees loose their leaves this time of year is South Florida.
I’m not sure if the season’s the reason or if maybe it was the coffee grounds. The coffee grounds were post perculated.
Do Coffee Grounds Make Good Fertilizer For Loquat Trees?
Tue, Aug 11, 2009
2 Responses to “Do Coffee Grounds Make Good Fertilizer For Loquat Trees?”
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August 11th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Hey Dave N,
Coffee Grounds are acidic organic materials that have not yet been composted. You can put them around the base of a tree, and they will decay. Better yet is to compost them, then use the compost as a fertilizer. Compost is easy, and only requires a small area.
Advice for Loquat trees: “A foliar fertilizer mix composed of magnesium and minor nutrients (manganese, zinc, boron, and molybdenum) may be applied 2 to 3 times per tree per year any time from April to November. In acid to neutral soils, apply iron sulfate at 0.25 to 1 oz per tree to the soil 2 to 3 times per year. In alkaline soils with a high pH, drench the soil with iron chelate 2 to 3 times per year from June through September. To make a soil drench, mix 0.5 to 0.75 oz (14-21 g) of iron chelate with 4 to 5 gallons (14-19 liters) of water and pour onto the soil next to the tree trunk.” 1
August 12th, 2009 at 5:51 am
Loquats should not loose their leaves, they are not a deciduous plant. Yellowing leaves are usually a sign of stress in a tree. I doubt the coffee would have caused this unless you drink a hell of a lot of coffee! Coffee grounds are mildly acidic but the percolation would remove mostly everything from the ground beans. They will decompose rapidly in compost but will do very little when simply thrown around the base of a tree.
The yellowing of the leaves is probably due to a lack of nutrients in its immediate area. After planting a tree will use what it was planted with (potting mix etc) then go in search of more nutrients. If your soil cant provide this the tree will start to suffer.
Apply a mixture of slow release complete tree fertiliser, small amount, and composted cow or sheep manure. Both are easily found at hardware stores/nurseries. A thick layer of mulch will aid in keeping the soil moist.
Hope this helps.