How to Manage Pests

Coffee tree, Kentucky coffee tree—Gymnocladus dioica
Family Fabaceae (Pea family)

Plant Identification

Coffee tree is a deciduous tree that grows quickly when young but slows down after it reaches 8 to 10 feet.  Trees can grow up to 100 feet tall and 50 feet wide.  Leaves are long and divided into many bluish-green leaflets.  In fall, leaves turn yellow.  Creamy or whitish flowers are produced in the spring.  Female trees produce brown pods with black seeds that last throughout the winter.  Settlers used to roast the seeds as a coffee substitute.

Optimum conditions for growth

Because of their size, coffee trees need a lot of growing room.  They do very well in areas with full sun and regular amounts of water and require little pruning.  Trees prefer rich soil but can tolerate poor soil.   They can survive in areas that are very hot or very cold.

Blossoms

Leaves and blossoms

Coffee tree, Gymnocladus dioica

Bark