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PSA: I used leftover coffee grounds on my azaleas and the leaves turned brown

I read online that coffee grounds could acidify soil, so I mixed about a cup of old grounds into the top layer around my two azalea bushes in the backyard. Within a few days, the leaf edges started to crisp up and turn a rusty color, which my local nursery said was likely a nitrogen issue from the grounds breaking down. Has anyone else had a bad reaction using kitchen scraps like this on specific plants?
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3 Comments
bennett.mason
So should you compost the grounds first then?
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cole994
cole9941mo ago
Yeah, the "nitrogen issue" part is a bit off. Coffee grounds are actually high in nitrogen, but they can tie it up in the soil as they break down, which starves the plant. That's probably what caused the burn on your azaleas.
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daniel474
daniel4741mo ago
Huh, @cole994, maybe the caffeine itself could be toxic to some plants like azaleas.
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