Coffee Tree
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.
Also called geranium aralia, geranium-leaf aralia and Wild Coffee.
Coffee Tree is toxic
- Toxic to cats. Toxic principle: Saponin. Clinical signs: Contact dermatitis, vomiting, anorexia, depression. ASPCA
- Toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: Saponin. Clinical signs: Contact dermatitis, vomiting, anorexia, depression. ASPCA
- Toxic to people. Can cause skin allergy. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H1A — warmer than 15°C 15 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- ToxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- ToxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- Can cause skin allergy. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.RHS · read 13 September 2026
Routine care
- Watering
- Let the soil dry partly between waterings, then give a deep, thorough soak.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026While growing, water generously, mist every day and feed monthly with a balanced liquid feed. Give little water in winter.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Feeding
- While growing, water generously, mist every day and give a balanced liquid feed monthly.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- Stem cuttingsNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Raise from seed; in early summer take greenwood cuttings, or in summer root stem sections without leaves using bottom heat.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Growth is slow, and they accept pruning to hold them at the size you want. Left unpruned, they grow 6-8 feet tall.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Follow pruning group 1.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by mealybugs and glasshouse red spider mite. Diseases: usually none.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Polyscias guilfoylei, the geranium aralia or wild coffee, is a species of evergreen shrub native to the paleotropics and neotropics. It is not closely related to the true coffee plants of the genus Coffea. It has erect branches and can grow to a height of up to 24 ft (7.3 m). The leaves are long and 1-pinnate with leaflets which are opposite. The leaf blades are variable, but usually ovate or elliptic and coarsely dentate or lacerate. The leaves are commonly variegated with margins of white or pale yellow, but can also be entirely dark green.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- as a cultigen from E. Malesia to SW. PacificWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026East Malesia to Southwest PacificNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026E Malesia, W PacificRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- wet tropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- shrub or treeWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Shrub; habit columnar, erectNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height up to 288 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 1-1.5 metres; spread 0.5-1 metres after 5–10 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Rarely blooms as a houseplantNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Other Polyscias
More of the Araliaceae family
English ivyCrisp margins that appear in winter
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Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.