ZZ Plant Care

ZZ Plant Care

When you take into account all the people who want to have plants in their homes, and those that are actually willing to take care of them and give time to them, you will realize that the latter numbers aren’t very high. While people do love to have some green in their artificial homes, they might not always have the time or expertise to take care of their indoor plants.
The ZZ plant is a dream come true for those people. This is a plant that requires virtually nothing from you to stay healthy. This plant can take months of neglect and still manage to look amazing. This quality of it is the reason that up until some years ago, people saw this plant as an artificial addition in malls and public places. A plant that looks fresh throughout the year must have seemed too good to be true.

The common name ‘ZZ’ of the plant is a short form of its scientific name, Zamioculcas Zamiifolia. The plant started to be grown in masses for the first time in the 1990’s by the Dutch, and has slowly gained its popularity to be a part of indoor spaces.
One slight disadvantage with the plant is that you can find only one cultivar to grow. This is the all green variety, also known as the Eternity Plant.

The plant’s stems look almost like a wand, being thick at the base and tapering slowly to a point as they move up. What makes people confuse this for an artificial plant is its leaves, which are oval shaped and have a waxy coating on them. This coating makes people think it is an arrangement sculpted out of plastic.
The height of the plant can be up to 24 inches. Its spread is determined by the size of the pot it is in. A wider pot will lead to a more bushy plant.

Standard ZZ Plant

The ZZ plant care requirements are extremely easy. The plant does not need a lot of attention, and is sure to add a touch of freshness to your home after minimal effort on your part.
The ZZ plant can thrive in a variety of lighting conditions. The only kind of light it doesn’t like is that which is too harsh and direct. This will cause scalding on the leaves, and can lead to curling and yellowing as well.
Bright and moderate, but indirect, light is more suited to their survival. However, they do just fine in extremely low light as well, such as that in a bathroom or in a windowless space.
The ZZ plant does not require a lot of watering either. On top of that, the only thing you need to be careful of is to not over water the plant. This has known to cause many ZZ plants to die.
Watering can be done when the soil goes completely dry. The soil does need to be moist for the most part of warmer seasons to ensure high levels of growth.

The ZZ plant can survive in most temperatures. The ideal temperature range is between 13 – 26 degrees Celsius. Warmer temperatures will lead to more growth.
As with water and light, the plant doesn’t require fertilizer either. If the plant is not growing, you do not need to feed it. When it is growing, a weak fertilizer once a month will be enough.

If one ZZ plant isn’t enough for you and you want to grow more, the process of propagating is fairly simple. However, you should know that you are looking at a wait of up to a year before you start seeing a new plant emerging.
In order to grow a new ZZ plant:
• Take off a leaf from the plant gently, and allow its raw edge to dry out.
• Take a pot and fill it up with a free draining compost mix.
• Place the leaf into this mix, with the raw edge inside. The edge needs to be inside only to hold the leaf in place, so a few centimeters under the soil will do.
After this process, all you need to do is wait. Eventually, one of the following three things will happen:
• You will see a new stem coming out of the soil next to the leaf you planted. This means that a new plant has started to grow.
• You will notice that the leaf has died suddenly. If this happens, pull out the leaf carefully. If there are some small tubers on the raw edge of it, then you can place it back into the mix and hope that the tubers lead to a new plant.
• You will notice the leaf dying, and upon pulling it out there is nothing else to see other than the dead leaf. This means that you attempt has failed, and you should try again.
The ZZ plant offers a unique solution to those people who want an attractive, easy-to-grow plant in their homes with the absolute minimal care. The best way to keep this plant alive and healthy is just to forget about it. It requires very little in terms of attention and care, and the best thing you can do for the ZZ plant’s survival and well being is to basically do nothing at all. Just place it somewhere with a good amount of light, water it every once in a while, and it will reward you with a fresh and green focal point in your indoor space.