Gardening has today, become a school of art that people have grown to appreciate in the best manner possible. People love to bring a little color to their homes and gardens and the most natural and beautiful way to go about this wondrous process of connecting with nature.
One such way of going about decorating your home is by bringing in a ZZ plant. The plants are famous for being very durable and adding a little character to your home or workspace in the best and most unique manner.
But what to do to keep the plant as bright as new? In this article, we will talk about a few ways of cleaning the leaves of your green ZZ friend.
What do we know about ZZ Plant?
A member of the Zamioculcas genus, the Zanzibar gem is a flowering plant in the family Araceae, containing the single species Zamioculcas zamiifolia. ZZ is known to be a tropical perennial plant native to eastern Africa, from southern Kenya to northeastern South Africa.
ZZ plants are known to have stems that grow in a graceful, wand-like shape that begins with a thick and bulbous base and then happens to taper to a point. Along the stem grow fleshy, oval-shaped leaves that successfully make the plant look like stylized feathers.
The entire plant possesses a waxy, shiny coating that manages to make it appear to resemble those made of plastic. Between the sculptural qualities of the plant and its waxy coating, it makes a lot of sense that people mistook it for artificial plants in malls and office buildings.
In the past, the ZZ plant would only be found in planters in malls and large office buildings and due to their amazing integrity would frequently be mistaken for fake plants, partially because they needed so little care and always looked extremely healthy.
As the years went by, they have found their way onto the shelves of both big box and hardware stores where you can get them to be members of your home.
ZZ plants are known to be slow-growing plants that prefer bright, indirect sunlight. One of the benefits of the ZZ plant is that it can thrive in many lighting conditions. If you ever plant or repot a ZZ, you should go ahead with it in the spring or summer when it’s in an active growth phase. Plants are known to be poisonous to humans and animals if ingested. Here are some things, in addition to the information already available, how does one care for a ZZ plant?
How to care for the ZZ plant?
ZZ plants are famous for being low-maintenance, easy-to-care-for houseplants that even gardeners with the blackest thumbs (someone unable to grow plants) can keep alive with minimum care. All they need to do with regard to care is adequate light and a good watering every couple of weeks.
However, you don’t have to worry too much if you forget to water your ZZ plant—these plants grow from rhizomes, which happens to help them to store water under the soil, making them drought-tolerant plants.
ZZ plants have a naturally shiny exterior about their leaves but can become dull as dust accumulates. Be careful that you never clean the leaves of a Zanzibar gem with a commercial leaf shine because that will just clog the pores of your plants. Instead, gently wipe away dust and debris with a damp washcloth to restore its shine.
Though it thrives outdoors in Africa, it’s best if you grow the plants indoors. If you want to grow it outside, plant it in a container that can be brought indoors when there is a drop n temperature.
ZZ Plant Soil Requirements
ZZ plants, as their durable nature suggests, are not overtly picky about their potting medium as long as it is a well-draining one. The plant is known to do just fine when potted in standard potting mixes available in most nurseries in your town.
If additional drainage is required, mixing in perlite or sand will help.
Just ensure that the soil in which your plant exists does not clog, because if it does, the accumulated water will end up giving your beautiful plant root rot, and nobody needs that. The fungal infections will destroy your plants.
Also Check: How to Choose Best Soil for ZZ Plant
ZZ Plant Watering
These plants are, as mentioned before, highly drought-tolerant and can handle infrequent watering thanks to their thick rhizomes.
You should, as a habit, water ZZ plants once the soil dries out completely—usually once every two weeks, depending on their growing conditions. Conduct a finger test, to be sure that the soil has been dried out completely.
ZZ Plant Light Requirements
ZZ plants are known to be tolerant of a wide range of lighting conditions, which makes them well-suited to be indoor plants. The plants can grow well, even in low-light conditions. But be careful because the plants can quickly become leggy when not given enough light.
When placing the plant in your house, be sure to choose a bright, indirect light spot, preferably in a room that possesses south-facing windows. Avoid direct sunlight, because the leaves might end up scorched however durable the plants are.
Be sure to look after the plants before it is too late for the plant is too late to be taken care of anymore.
Check Out: How Much Light Do ZZ Plants Need?
Pest related issues
Another testimony to the ZZ’s durability is the fact that the plants are virtually disease-free, but it still is necessary that you keep an eye out for common houseplant pests such as mealybugs, scale, and fungus gnats, and aphids that may infest this plant.
You can use any insecticidal soap to eliminate most of these pest problems.
Read More: About ZZ Plant Pests & Diseases
Best Pot for a ZZ Plant
Owing to their durable nature, ZZ plants are known to survive in almost all kinds of pots. Any pot works fine if you keep in mind a few tricks and tips.
One of the best ways to pot your ZZ plant indoors is to plant it into a cheap outdoor plastic pot with drainage holes. You can even use an old pot from another plant that has been disinfected properly.
Pot Size
As is the case with most plants, ZZ plants too like to have a little room to spread their roots and grow to their best potential, so pot size does affect plant health. These requirements are not very different from most plants. Mainly, the pot needs to be big enough for the plant.
The best way to get an estimate on the proper size of pot for your ZZ Plant is to periodically remove the plant and soil ball from the container it’s planted in.
If it seems like the plant is root-bound or the rhizome is touching, or within one inch of the pot wall, it’s time to graduate it to the next size up.
A pot that is a couple of inches larger in diameter should do the trick.
For rooted cuttings or divisions, you will want to select smaller and smaller containers that don’t give too much extra space. Putting a small plant in a pot with too much space makes it quite challenging to manage water levels and the plant might get root rot.
Pot Material
There is literally a world of materials you can choose from. Plastic, metal, clay, terracotta, concrete, coir fibre, etc.
You don’t need to stress too much about the potting material when considering what to plant your ZZ in. certain delicate plants do well in certain pots but fortunately ZZ is not one of them.
Here, the variations of pros and cons between different materials make very little difference to your green friends.
More porous materials like coir, concrete, or terra cotta planters will probably wick away moisture from the soil, at different materials while others, like plastic, may tend to retain it. However, the hardy nature of these effects is pretty minimal in the grand scheme of things.
Drainage
Above everything else, your pot needs to have excellent drainage. ZZ Plants are very tough and can keep up with almost everything except sitting in soggy, water-logged soil. You must make sure whatever you plant your ZZ in has proper drainage!
This means, ideally, your pot should possess at least one drain hole on the bottom of it. If your container doesn’t have one already, you don’t need to fret, make one using a handheld drill or transplant it to a pot that does.
If you are unable to make the hole in your pot, you can fill the bottom a few inches with gravel to help with the drainage.
However, this isn’t exactly the most ideal solution, as sitting in water can promote disease, and you still really have to pay attention to the frequency of when you water without having a proper drainage system for the plant.
What to do when the ZZ plant outgrows a pot?
When your ZZ plant outgrows its pot you could either move it to a larger pot or split it into multiple plants. If you are thinking of repotting the whole ZZ plant, choose a pot that is about 1-2 inches wider and deeper.
This will add just enough soil to give the roots more room to grow but not cause too much damage to the rhizomes.
Another option that you can opt for is to divide the plant and plant each piece into a smaller pot. Choose 3 smaller pots and plant 2-3 rhizomes in each of them.
Read More: About How And When To Repot ZZ Plant?
FAQs
What is the ideal time to repot?
If you realize that your ZZ’s growth seems a bit stunted, that might be a warning sign that you need to move the plant to a bigger pot.
Other signs include the soil drying out too quickly, rhizomes pushing out of the soil too much, rhizomes touching the sides of the pot, or roots that are bound together or wrapping in circles around the bottom of the soil.
How many drainage holes should the pot have?
Choose a strong inner plastic pot that happens to have at least 5 drainage holes for your ZZ plant. Make sure that you use the best quality potting soil you can afford and sit the inner pot inside an indoor pot without drainage holes.
Be careful to take the inner pot out and water the plant well over a sink or outside for it to drain.
Conclusion
The pot is where the roots of your plants reside and they need to stay as healthy as possible for your plant to survive. You must take care of your ZZ Plant, no matter how resilient you think the plant is. Good roots lead to healthy plants and we all ought to take note of that.
Let us know in the comments below which pot you think will suit your plant the best. Happy gardening!
Related Articles
- ZZ Plant Pot: How to Choose the Best Pot for ZZ Plant
- ZZ Plant Yellow Leaves – Causes & How to Fix
- Raven ZZ Plant – Everything You Need to Know
- ZZ Plant Dying – Causes and How to Fix Them
- ZZ Plant Pests and Diseases – How to Deal With Them
- 10+ Common ZZ Plant Problems and How To Fix Them!
