Do Roses Like Coffee Grounds? (If YES, Why?)

is coffee ground good for rose plant

Do roses like coffee grounds? Yes, coffee ground is very good for roses. Coffee grounds have high nitrogen content, and nitrogen is one of the minerals that make roses grow healthily.

However, when you add too much coffee grounds to your rose, it could burn the roots of your precious flowers, and that’s one of the things you have to watch out for.

One of the things that would make your flower grow well is when you practice adequate fertilization – adding more nutrients to the soil and maintaining other planting techniques.

Coffee grounds’ is a waste product most people would pour away, but it seems this waste product is actually beneficial to roses.

Let’s quickly find out more about the benefits of coffee grounds for roses.

Do Roses Like Coffee Grounds?

Do Roses Like Coffee Grounds

Apparently, roses like coffee grounds. It helps them in growing healthier when applied moderately. As already explained above, coffee grounds are rich in many nutrients but contain more nitrogen.

So, simply put, coffee grounds can be good or bad to your roses depending on how and when you applied them to the soil.

If you add coffee grounds to your compost at the wrong time of the year (season), whether moderately applied or not, chances are that your roses would be badly affected, especially by winter frost.

So, when should you add coffee grounds to your roses?

What do Coffee Grounds do to Roses?

Coffee grounds have a high nitrogen profile; thus, when introduced to the same soil your roses are planted, it adds more nitrogen nutrients to the soil. Nitrogen happens to be one of the main nutrients needed by roses to grow healthier. 

However, coffee grounds do not only contain nitrogen; other minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, calcium, boron, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc, are all present coffee grounds.

Nitrogen is mentioned the most because it is up to 2% while other nutrients are not up to 1% each. 

So, because of the high nitrogen content, some gardeners love to add coffee grounds to their roses.

But, just as adding coffee grounds may seem an ideal option, it is important to know that coffee grounds can also kill the root of your roses.

How Do Coffee Grounds Affect Roses?

Moderation is the keyword here. When coffee grounds are applied moderately, your roses would grow well, looking healthy with all shades of beauty.

More so, it is important to say that roses love organic materials, and coffee grounds are one of such.

Coffee grounds also help to improve soil drainage and feed the soil with more nutrients that are important for healthy plant growth.

There are pretty many ways coffee grounds help in assuring healthier roses. But what are the disadvantages of add coffee grounds to your roses?

When coffee grounds are applied excessively, it could kill off your roses or make them not yield properly.

Excess coffee grounds imply excess nitrogen; the soil already has nitrogen mineral, and if nitrogen is excess in the soil, typically, it causes more harm than good to the cultivated plants or flowers. 

When To Apply Coffee Grounds To Roses

Coffee grounds are not regular plant fertilizers that you could add to the soil at no specific time. Instead, coffee grounds are to be applied at a particular time during the season.

Studies show that adding coffee grounds to the soil too early or late in the season can cause your flower to grow soft delicate leaves, vulnerable to frost damage.

Thus, when seems the best time to add coffee grounds to roses is between April and May. At this time of the year, your roses are obviously coming back from the winter dormancy, with fully-opened leaves.

More so, it is wrong and not advisable to add coffee grounds after August 15th. Why?

The reason is that new growth needs some time to grow harder and prepare for the upcoming winter season, which comes with thick frosts.

When coffee grounds are applied in mid-august, it makes the leaves of your roses weak, and therefore, they may just die off few weeks into the winter season.

Well, winter does not affect all roses the same; regardless, to be on the safe side, you should avoid adding coffee grounds in mid-august.

There are two possible ways to add coffee grounds to your roses; they are explained below.

How To Add Coffee Grounds To Rose Plants

The main thing to keep in mind is not to add more than required. You can add coffee grounds as fertilizers or apply them to compost. Below are the explanations.

1. Apply As Fertilizer

There’s actually nothing wrong with adding coffee grounds directly to your beds. However, if you’re pouring our “raw” coffee grounds into your bed, you need to do that sparingly and do not add too much.

You could add coffee grounds into any hole you find around your flower. Don’t add too closely to the roots of your roses.

2. Add To Compost

It is much safer this way; when you add coffee grounds to compost, it tends to reduce nitrogen availability; thus, chances of feeding your plant with excessive nitrogen get lean. 

Add a layer of mixed compost around your plant to improve the soil nutrients and also retain moisture.

Do not add the compose next to the roses’ stem to avoid rot. Furthermore, it is advisable to give at least a one-inch gap around the plant stem when applying coffee grounds with compost.

Again, even though you added the coffee grounds to compost, you should apply sparingly and do not add too much.


So, summarily, do roses like coffee grounds? Yes, they do. It is totally cool to add coffee grounds to your roses – just don’t add too much.

You could get coffee grounds from certain stores, or you could use the one left from your home coffee brewing.

Asides from the dominant nitrogen nutrient, all other nutrients available in coffee grounds also play a crucial role in breeding healthier plants. Finally, take note of the recommended time to add coffee grounds to roses.

Generally, every gardener has a unique planting style, simply align this information with your planting technique and watch your roses grow better than ever.

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