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Hi’ I have moonshine, dragon tree and aloe. I heard used coffee… | Anything about plants | Comunità di Planta

Struggling plant own

Hi’ I have moonshine, dragon tree and aloe. I heard used coffee grinds can help fertilize. Is that true for all 3? I also heard eggshells and I’ve already used it but don’t really see a difference. Please help.

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5 commenti

  1. MattL

    People have all sorts of favorite recipes involving coffee grounds, banana peels, eggshells and who knows what. I think the safest thing to do is buy a complete fertilizer at the store, but if you’re making your own I think you need a recipe, it’s not enough to just sprinkle coffee grounds on a plant in most cases.

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  2. Madison

    I get why you tried it because I know a lot of people online swear by using coffee grinds and egg shells as fertilizer, but I really don’t recommend it for a few reasons. First, any nutrients in them would have to be broken down by soil microbes- which indoor houseplants do not have unless you’ve specifically added them- to actually be bioavailable to the plant, so the plants can’t actually get any nutrients out of them which is probably why you’re not seeing a difference. Coffee grounds also do not have enough nitrogen and egg shells can’t break down enough in indoor soil to provide meaningful calcium. Since they don’t break down, they’re also more likely to bring mold, rot, and fungus gnats. I’d suggest going with a store-bought fertilizer. You can get an organic one if that matters to you, but that’s really the best way to make sure your plants are receiving the right nutrients. The dragon tree and moonshine (I’m assuming you mean the Sansevieria trifasciata ‘moonshine’ aka moonshine snake plant, but correct me if I’m wrong) will do well with any balanced fertilizer that has an NPK ratio of 1-1-1/10-10-10. The aloe plant will have different fertilizing needs than the moonshine and dragon tree, so I’d look up an Aloe/cactus/succulent fertilizer specifically for it. Schultz cactus plus would be a good example of a fertilizer for the Aloe. If you’re really against store-bought fertilizer, you could use worm castings as fertilizer instead by sprinkling some on the top layer of the soil or mixing it into your soil mix and then watering normally. I’d recommend researching online first about how much to use for each plant if you go that route, but it’s an option. I’m not sure if it will be as effective as store-bought fertilizer, but they will definitely help more.

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    • Struggling plant own

      Thank you for the details! Is it too early to change out/replant the dragon tree. I put the eggshells in it and i think i see gnats or something

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    • Madison

      When did you last repot it? It’s not ideal to repot in the winter if the plant doesn’t need it, but if I was worried about the health of the roots of the plant, then I’d personally repot it.

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    • Madison

      You may be seeing fungus gnats. They’re annoying but not necessarily harmful and super common with houseplants. When I have them, I use yellow sticky traps and then water with mosquito bits for the next few waterings to kill them off. Just make sure you follow the instructions for the mosquito bits really well if you use it.

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