is pouring my half mug of cold tea into the plant pot..

C

cjard

Registered Senior Member
..bad for the plant?

I dont take sugar, a little milk and have the tea weak. Currently the gardener is rampaging about how the caffeine in the tea and coffee (that people dump into the plants) is making the plants hyperactive, and dehydrating them.

now, i know it's a diuretic with dehydrating consequences for the human body, but i've also read that tea leaves (from used bags etc) make good fertilisers for some plants that like acidic soils. If so, are there particular plants i should be helping keep alive in the office, and what are they? :)
 
Ferns mostly, though weather or not emptying your tea into the plant container and not down the sink is actually "helping" the plant per say...

Mmmmmmmm.

Basically it shouldn't harm a plant too greatly, however, if you've got an office with say 10 people in it and every one of them empties half a cup a day into the same plant pot, pretty damn soon your going to over water it and give it some serious caffeine jags the instant anyone forgets the routine.

Every now and then, occasionally, the odd splish of cold tea makes no difference, but too much will do it no good whatever variety it is.

Hope that helps.... ;)
 
Caffeine is a plant poison, an alkaline I believe. As it's organic, it will have nitrogen in it, which could possibly break down and fertilize the plant. Of course, earth metals (alkalines) also form salts, which could definitely cause salt problems.

I'd worry more about upsetting the pH, as tea seems to be a bit acidic.
 
Caffeine is an alkaloid, which is very different from an alkali. Alkaloids are organic poisons that plants produce (like strychnine, nicotine, morphine, and mescaline- ahh, nicotine); alkalines are basic compounds. Alkaloids are made to stop animals from eating the plants, and many, many plants produce caffeine. As such, the caffeine is probably not going to hurt the plants very much, but it can't possibly help them. Why don't you just pour your tea down the sink?
 
Alkaloids are also produced by plants to inhibit the growth of a competing species of plant, not just to stop animals from eating them. So, it very well could be harmful to the potted plant you are pouring your tea into if it is susceptible to caffeine poisoning.
 
Don't dump tea in your plant. If nothing else happens, the tannic acid will screw up the pH of your soil. Do an experiment, get two identical plants and only pour tea on one of them. See what happens.
 
i dont think we actually have 2 identical plants in the whole office.. heh

these poor plants dont get watered enough (yeah, the gardner rampages about tea and coffee, but doesnt actually water the plants as often as neceessary anyway.. oh the hypocrisy!) hence the reason why i occasionally either dump my tea, or dump my rinsings into the plant :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top