Roses are gorgeous plants with vibrant blooms, and each bloom represents something unique in terms of meaning.
However, even though they are a popular plant option for gardeners, the rose is not necessarily the easiest plant to grow or care for.
We also do not mean to say that they are one of the hardest plants to grow and would likely be suitable for a beginner gardener, but without the right care, roses will not flourish.
Providing your roses with good food will enhance growth and make them happy and healthy.
However, what is a good food source; do roses like coffee grounds?
Coffee grounds can be a good nutritional source for your roses but it is important to not overdo it. By using too much coffee grounds you can burn your roses’ roots and put your plant in potential danger.
If reusing your old coffee grounds is something you are looking to do, it is a good way to do that, but please do read our guide to using coffee grounds for roses, so you can ensure to benefit for this process.
Using Coffee Grounds For Roses
Plants require a wide range of nutrients for strong growth and nitrogen is one of the most important ones. One advantage of coffee grounds is they are a good source of nitrogen.
You need to be careful with applying the coffee grounds though because if applied too early or too late in the year it can promote new leaf growth that may get killed if frost occurs.
Best practices will be suggested:
- The ideal moment for adding coffee grounds to your roses during the growing season is in early spring, usually April or May. You will add it at a time when the rose will be coming out of its dormancy and pre-leafing-up new leaves.
- In the latter part of the growing season, stop using coffee around the middle of August, which provides the plant the opportunity to acclimate to winter while utilizing the energy it has left.
- Many people decide to use nitrogen fertilizers after this point and notice very quickly that the plant’s leaves turn black and need to be removed at the time of the first frost no matter how nice they look, for good plant health.
- Another thing to keep in mind is that there can be too much of a good thing with coffee grounds so using it sparingly is the best idea while applying this to your roses.
Coffee is rich in nitrogen, which is important for your roses. However, providing too much of it will burn the roots.
There are many ways to apply coffee grounds to your roses and they are all effective when applied in good practice.
Apply Coffee Grounds In Water
To follow this method you will need arguably a half a pound of coffee grounds (around half of a standard bag of coffee) and a full watering can of water (around two gallons).
Sprinkle the coffee grounds around the soil where the roses are growing, and then water in.
This is not only increasing the nitrogen content of the soil there is very little chances of any root damage happening.
When using this method care needs to be taken not to dig the coffee into the soil as there is the risk of root damage.
In addition to this, any worms that are in the ground will help to work the grounds into the soil so nature will do the hard graft for you.
Good News: The great thing about this method is it only needs to be done once. At the beginning of the season, during the early spring time this can be done and that will keep your roses healthy throughout the next months.
Mixing Coffee Grounds And Water
If you would prefer, you can still use the same measures (half of a pound of coffee grounds and two gallons of water) and combine the two before applying to the soil around your roses.
The thing that is great about using this method is that it will give you a very uniform distribution, and you do not have to wet the area after applying.
We would recommend adding the coffee grounds to the watering can first and then the water will make things easier to mix.
Again, like the previous method, this is recommended at the beginning of the growing season and is something you will only need to do once.
Coffee Compost Heap
If you own a compost heap or bin, feel free to add coffee grounds to it as this will create a wonderful ratio of nitrogen and carbon.
You can then use this compost to add nutrients to the soil around your roses. This will provide an excellent nutrient boost for the plants and help get rid of troublesome weeds.
As a bonus, this will keep the soil well-drained.
You won’t be surprised to know that if you are adding coffee grounds to your compost, this should ideally be done in early spring for the best results.
Please Note: Do not dig the compost into the soil as you may potentially damage the roots.
How Are Coffee Grounds Good For Roses?
We’ve covered some ways to use coffee grounds for your roses, we have not really talked about the why.
The great news about coffee grounds is that there are many ways they can be good for your roses.
As we found out earlier, the good nutrient that is found in coffee is nitrogen which is something that your roses will love.
It is also filled with potassium and phosphate, which is fantastic news, for your plants. They will make sure that your roses are going to produce healthy new growth.
Even more important, when you put coffee grounds out early in the spring, your roses are more likely to resist disease.
They are hardy plants as it is, but this is a welcome boost no matter how you look at it.
While the nitrogen is amazing, the other compounds in the coffee grounds will help keep the soil healthy, which is obviously key for your roses.
And speaking of soil, it improves the structure, which allows worms and other fauna to better break down the coffee grounds and other organics material for the roots to uptake.
Roses also prefer well-drained soil and adding a material, such as coffee grounds, improves the drainage.
This type of material will hold onto moisture, enough to keep them nourished and any excess will drain through. Most would agree, this is an ideal balance.
For all plants, it is also important to get the appropriate acid level. For roses, it is important to keep the pH somewhere between 6-6.8.
From experience, different types of coffee beans result in a different acidity level, but generally speaking, they all tend to be within the compatible range for your soil, which provide roses an extremely comfortable and favorable environment.
Conclusion
If you are a fan of lovely colorful flowers that roses produce, then you will probably want multiple plants in your garden!
But the roses will never be at their best unless you feed them and this requires their preferred nutrients.
This is where leftover coffee grounds come into play as they are full of nitrogen and other great stuff for roses!
Just keep in mind not to over do it as too much can affect the roots and cause damage to the plant!