As there are many plants which like coffee grounds and grow well in acidic soil, there are also certain plants which do not like coffee grounds as the substance is toxic to them.
Some of these plants include; century plant, lavender, pothos, orchids, sago palm, yucca, rosemary e.t.c. These plants do not like acidic soil and coffee grounds when added to the soil, increase the acidity of the soil. Some of the plants are explained below.
1) LAVENDER: The best climate to grow lavenders is the Mediterranean like climate. They boom mid-late summer and are drought tolerant perennial. They thrive on full sun, with hot, dry, sandy soil. They do not like too much water. Lavenders can be grown in containers.
Larger species of lavenders will require three foot centres while the smaller ones will need just two foot centres. Good drainage is necessary when growing lavenders.
Lavenders do not like acidic soils and so if your soil is acidic, ensure to add lime as lavenders prefer alkaline soil or a soil with higher pH. As a result of this, lavenders do not like coffee grounds.
Read also: Are Coffee Grounds Good For Vegetable Plants? Step By Step Answer
2) Orchids: Coffee grounds are not the best for epiphytic orchids due to the fact that they don’t grow in soil with organisms to break down the nitrogen in coffee. Coffee grounds do not have adequate caffeine to kill snails and is too acidic.
Mulching using coffee grounds is seen to be impractical for orchids and can result in clogging up the medium to cause root rot. Despite the fact that coffee is rich in nitrogen, it still doesn’t change the fact that it cannot be absorbed by orchid roots.
Also using coffee grounds as mulch by sprinkling the grounds on top of the soil will cause a decomposition which would attract gnats and molding.
Read also: How To Compost Coffee Grounds Step Step
3) POTHOS: Pothos is a houseplant which is easy to grow and requires minimum care. The high content of coffee grounds is beneficial for the pothos. However, pothos do not like acidic soils and the addition of coffee grounds can be detrimental to them as regards that area.
This is because on addition of coffee grounds, the soil acidity is increased and despite benefiting nitrogen from the grounds, the high acidic content can be harmful to them so it is essential ti always check the soil’s pH level before adding coffee grounds and that’s if you are to add the grounds at all.
An option and one of the best ways to use coffee grounds on your pothos is adding the grounds to compost. Other ways include: mixing it with mulch, adding it to the potting mix or using it as compost tea.
Read also: Do Sunflower Like Coffee Grounds? Step By Step Answer
4) ROSEMARY: Brewed coffee is very much acidic. Thus, it is necessary to dilute it before watering your rosemary with it. This is because rosemary do not love highly acidic soil.
Although Rosemary plants in some ways like coffee grounds as the rosemary plants like acidic soil (though not too much acidity) and the coffee grounds are beneficial to them and contain essential nutrients needed for their healthy growth and development. The high level of the acidity of the grounds can be a limiting factor.
For details about plants that don’t like coffee grounds, read this article
Conclusion
I hope you find this article helpful. I would like to hear from you. So, let me know if you have any questions. Also, if you want to know plants that like coffee grounds, read our step by step guide here.
