I'm not sure why you would want to mix something into your soils that breaks down quickly, increasing water retention, slowing drainage, and reducing aeration. These are the primary problems with bagged soils even before we start adding materials that rapidly decompose or wreck soil porosity.

I see tea touted as a 'tonic' for plants quite frequently on these forums. I won't speak about the teas like chamomile or other herbals, but the dark teas that are high in tannin are not something I'd choose to skip applying to my plants, simply because tannins are known allelopaths.

Al

I don't know how I can make it any simpler. There's only one word in the whole reply you might need to look up, but it's a word that all gardeners should be familiar with anyway. If the information is of no value to you - there's nothing lost & you can move to the next response. If what I said is beyond your understanding - I apologize, but I do think it's bad form to criticize someone who is trying to help you, simply because you don't understand. Good luck.

PS - I did mean to say ". . . the dark teas that are high in tannin are something I'd choose to skip applying to my plants, simply because tannins are known allelopaths."

Al

Thank you for your response!
Yes you're right, most "bagged soils" are not very good, that's why I asked the question about amending the soil with tea (leaves). If I have something "free" at home to improve my soil it wouldn't make a lot of sense to just throw it out. Nothing you could possibly say is beyond my understanding. I know you have valuable knowledge to share and I have read many of your posts and responses. You just have a tendency to come off as arrogant in some of your answers. Not everyone here is a master gardener, some of us do it for enjoyment.
Ok, beware the allelopaths!

I'll apologize again. I don't intend to come off as arrogant. I do find amusement in the idea you label me arrogant immediately after you say "Nothing you could possibly say is beyond my understanding." ;o)

Take care. Good night.

Al

Tapla's a nicer person than I am, clearly.

If you don't want to learn, don't ask the questions. If you do want to learn, you might expect that it's going to take the teeniest bit of effort on your part. Be prepared to use a dictionary. Or Google. Or Wikipedia.

And if you want to talk about coming across as sounding arrogant, feeling entitled to a free answer to your question, in a few hours, from a more experienced gardener, and then feeling free to complain that it wasn't presented at the exact vocabulary level you want it in is very. I mean, who are you, that you're too busy to spend two minutes googling a word? At the very least you could ask nicely for clarification, if a dictionary is just completely out of the question.

Mr. Subjunctive, I've read your responses and have taken some your advice.
I am "nicely" clarifying that I wanted a response from someone who'd tried it.
On the garden web everyone is "entitled to a free answer to [your] question", I don't need and answer "from a more experienced gardener" just one from someone who has actually tried it. Tapla's answer sounded as if he were scolding me for asking an innocent question. As for the vocabulary level you don't know me and googling a word takes mere seconds not "two minutes". As for arrogance, I give as I get.
I no longer need an answer, I recieced one on another forum.
To the amused Tapla - I saw a photo of a beautiful gardenia bush whose owner used your mix... as I mentioned, I try to use what I have, that's why I asked in the first place.
K

Actually trying something is being more experienced. You have the experience of trying the thing. That's why they call it that.

If I may ask, what are all of the house plants your growing? I also like to know what kind of tea leaves you are aiming to use for those plants?

Supannee - 'A hobbyist who is always interested in learning.'

Most of my house plants are variegated. Spathyphillum, Ficus Benjamina, Elastica and Pumila, Madagascar Dragon Tree, Dracaena Marginata and Warnekii, Balfour Aralia, Andrew Croton, Lipstick Black Pagoda, Purple Passion Plant, Hindu Rope Hoya, Marble Queen Pothos and Monstera Deliciosa (the last two could use growth inhibitors).
I drink 2-8 cups of green tea per day (with Peach,Cranberry-Apple,and Lemon teas added for flavor).
To me, it's a shame to throw away all those tea leaves everyday.
I also have lots of outdoor plants in containers.

I tremendously enjoy drinking tea also, thou only 1-2 cups maximum per day. You are right why waste all those good things. Have you tried
posting this question on the soil Forum?

Thanks, great idea, I'll "go" over there!

Divaelpastoex. My daughter is a graduate electronic engineer, has a master’s degree in data science and is a member of Mensa. (This to let previous responders know that we’re not dealing with an intellectual deficit here.) She is new to houseplants and was asking a more experienced gardener (me) for advice on her monstera deliciosa. As she is very keen on helping the environment I decided to look up tea as fertiliser and was directed to this Houzz strand. I’ve never before experienced such ungracious responses and checked your original question to see if there was something in your style to justify it- didn’t see anything untoward. Most Houzzers in my experience are really keen to be genuinely helpful so I hope you’re not put off by the bizarre responses you’ve received.

Was it really important to add that very unnecessary response (nothing in it that is pertinent to the orginal question) to a stale thread that is 11 years old????

btw, the first response more than adequately answered the question - it was the OP's ungracious and bizarre response to that that prompted further comments.

Well, that was bizarre, to borrow a word. I'm still trying to figure out how affording us way more info re the daughter's level of intellect has bearing on the intellect of who we're actually dealing with? A non sequitur.

Something I wrote and have posted frequently when the myth that coffee/tea serve well as a tonic, and/or coffee tea grounds are a beneficial addition to container media. Even when there's incoming, I'll try to be helpful even if 'deferential' isn't in the cards. ;-)

Coffee/Tea Grounds

Forum discussions frequently center on the
question of adding dilute coffee/tea or grounds to plants as a
'tonic', but Arabica (coffee) and Camellia (tea) are known for their
toxic alkaloid (caffeine) content and their allelopathic affect on
plants as well as autotoxic (poison to their own seedlings) effects
on future generations. Caffeine interferes with root development by
impairing protein metabolism. This affects activity of an important
bio-compound (PPO) and lignification (the process of becoming woody),
crucial steps for root formation.

We also know that the tannins in both coffee and tea are known
allelopaths (growth inhibitors). There are ongoing experiments to
develop herbicides using extracts from both coffee and tea that cause
me to want to say they might serve better as a nonselective herbicide
than as a tonic. I would not use either (stale coffee or tea) by
applying directly to my plants - especially containerized plants; nor
would I add tea bags/coffee grounds to my container soils for reasons noted.

Al