Propagate Wild Coffee From a Stem Cutting

Propagate wild coffee from a 2 to 4 inch cutting in spring or fall, and keep it misted until it roots. Seed is slower: sow fresh fruit in spring.

Take a 2 to 4 inch cutting in spring or fall, and keep it misted

The usual home start from a plant you already own is a short tip cutting. Take it in spring or fall from a healthy terminal shoot. [1] Two to four inches is enough if the piece has several nodes. Dip the base in a talc rooting hormone at or below 0.8 percent IBA if you have it; many cuttings still root without it, but the roots are often better with the powder. Stick the base one-half to three-quarters of an inch into mix that drains, and keep the leaves misted under bright shade. [2] Roots often start in three to four weeks. Leave the cutting in that mix until about eight weeks, then pot it on. If you are filling a bed from nursery gallons, see Planting Wild Coffee. Later shade and watering live on How to Grow Wild Coffee.

1. In spring or fall, cut a 2 to 4 inch terminal shoot with several nodes. Keep it in a bag so it does not wilt on the way to the bench.
2. Wet the base, dip it in rooting powder if you use it, and stick it one-half to three-quarters of an inch into a bark mix that drains.
3. Set the pot in bright shade and mist the leaves every day so they do not dry.
4. Wait seven to eight weeks for a full root system, then move the plant into a 4-inch pot and grow it on before it goes in the ground.

Sow fresh seed in spring — it is slower than a cutting

Seed works, but it is the slow route. Collect ripe red fruit, clean the pulp off the two seeds inside, and sow in spring after the last frost if your yard still freezes. [3] The seed does not keep well, and it can sit because of dormancy, so use fruit from this season. Press it into a mix that drains, keep the surface moist, and wait. Seedlings under the parent also transplant if you lift them with soil on the roots. [4] A cutting is the faster start from a shrub you already like.

1. Pick ripe red fruit and rinse the pulp off the seeds the same day.
2. Sow in spring in a mix that drains. Do not bury the seed deep. Keep the surface moist.
3. Wait. Germination can stretch over months. Pot a seedling only after it has a few true leaves.
4. If a seedling comes up under the parent, lift it with soil on the roots and move it the same day.

If a cutting fails, it dried out, sat in a soggy cup, or was taken in heat. Stick a 2 to 4 inch tip in spring or fall and keep the leaves misted. Seed is slower, so use fresh fruit.