Coffee

In this area of Florida are three species of Psychotria. They each have tiny flowers and berries, and are traditionally participants in the understory of hammocks. These are great contributors to a low-maintenance, naturalized landscape.

Wild Coffee Psychotria nervosa

This is a fairly common roadside plant. Birds eat the berries and spread them. Position it at the edge of your hammock, so it gets partial sun. Don't over-water. Keep it trimmed between 5-7 feet high.

Florida Coffee Psychotria sulzneri

The flowers are itty bitty little things (click on the image at right to enlarge it and see how small they are), but still a good source of nectar. This one is good to use to fill in partially shaded areas, more like a 4-5 foot tall groundcover, than a shrub.

Bahama Coffee Psychotria ligustrifolia

P. ligustrifolia can be embraced as a pleasant, southern cousin of the two above, frequently found in Key Largo and on down south.

Attractive, shiny foliage, tiny white flowers, red berries. Bahama coffee does well in a variety of locations from full-sun to fairly deep shade. It naturally tends to stay low and full and, if spaced properly (2'-4' apart, depending on the type of effect you are aiming for), does not need trimming. It is a low-maintenance shrub that works in formal situations.


Above and at right, photos of flowers. Below, a shot of ripened fruit.
	Birds love Bahama coffee berries. They hide inside the foliage and eat them to their heart's content.
	Plant a few on 3' centers around the base of a screening shrub, as in the photo at left, where over time, they will fill in and seal the gaps.
At right, bahama coffee is coupled with crabwood in this shady corner at the edge of the driveway. This screening combination completely obscures unsightly trash cans on the neighbor's property.


The photos below at left show arrangements of Bahama coffee. The photos below at right show the same locations three years later.

We have them available in 3-gal. and 7-gal. pots.

Call for prices

Last updated: 01/22/2008