haydenj90•4mo agoMost Upvoted

A guy at the nursery told me to use old coffee grounds for my hydrangeas

I was picking up some mulch in Springfield last spring, and my blue hydrangeas were looking pretty sad. I mentioned it to the older guy working the garden center. He just nodded and said, 'You drink coffee? Save the grounds. Sprinkle them around the base, not too thick. It'll help with the soil.' I was skeptical, but I started saving my morning coffee filter for about two weeks. Raked the old grounds into the soil around the plants. Honestly, I didn't expect much. But by mid-summer, the color was way more vibrant. Not a miracle fix, but a solid free boost. Anyone else have a cheap soil trick like that for specific plants?

3 comments

3 Comments

elizabeth2204mo ago

Totally get your bad experience, but mine was the opposite. I've been doing the coffee grounds trick for three seasons now with no issues. The key is to mix them into the soil really well and not just dump a pile. My soil is pretty compacted clay, so the grounds help break it up and add some organic stuff. Maybe it depends on what your dirt is like to start with.

abbychen2mo ago

Poured a whole bucket of coffee grounds on my roses once thinking more = better. My neighbor legit thought I was trying to grow espresso beans in my front yard. @thompson.tyler I can totally see how going overboard would fry your plants, especially if your soil's already got enough acid. I think what worked for me was only using like a half inch layer and working it in deep, not just sprinkling it on top like seasoning a steak. That stuff is potent, and I learned the hard way that a little goes a long way or you end up with a very confused patch of dirt. My hydrangeas are a weird purplish blue now so at least the experiment wasn't a total flop.

thompson.tyler4mo ago

My hydrangeas in Decatur got root burn from coffee grounds last year. That acid boost can really backfire on some soil types.

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