ZZ Plant – How to Grow a ZZ Plant
The ZZ Plant is a fantastically easy to grow houseplant. You may have seen it before in an office building or a mall. You also may have mistaken it for being a fake plant because the leaves are so shiny!
We included the ZZ Plant in our list of Easiest Houseplants for Beginners because it can tolerate lots of different levels of light and an erratic watering schedule. It’s a great starter plant because of it’s easy care and hardiness.
We’re going to share more than you ever wanted to know about Zamioculcas zamiifolia and how to care for it so read on!
ZZ Plant Overview
It always helps to have a general overview of any plant that you’re thinking about purchasing. If you know it’s common and scientific names it makes it a lot easier to find.
| Common Name(s) | Zanzibar gem, Zuzu plant, Eternity plant |
| Scientific Name | Zamioculcas zamiifolia |
| Family | Araceae |
| Origin | Africa |
| Height | Up to 24 inches |
| Light | Varied – can withstand very low light |
| Water | Low |
| Temperature | 65-80°F |
| Humidity | Moderate |
| Soil | Any good potting mix |
| Fertilizer | Monthly |
| Propagation | Division |
| Pests | Rarely Aphids |
ZZ Plant Care
This is one of those super easy to care for plants. They’re pretty tolerant of most lighting, an erratic watering schedule and a bit of neglect. In fact they prefer to dry out a bit so a little neglect might not be a bad thing.
Light
The ZZ Plant will tolerate just about any light situation from bright to very low. They don’t like direct sunlight, and it can damage their leaves.
This plant is going to do best in bright, indirect light. If the light is particularly low it will need even less water.
Temperature
The ZZ plant likes the regular houseplant temps that a human is going to be comfortable in. The ZZ plant will do well with temps between 55-90 degrees but it’s going to fall into doing well in the same environment you’ll be comfortable in.
Water
The ZZ plant will do well if it’s not watered any more often than once a week. It can go a couple of weeks without water and since root rot is about the only thing that will kill it, you want to underwater rather than over water.
This plant has large rhizomes for roots and it’s well adapted to droughts. It can store water in its leaves as well so you’ll want the soil to dry out between waterings.
If it’s in a very low light area then space your waterings out further than once per week. If it’s in an area receiving indirect sunlight for many hours per day then go ahead and water it each week, but stick your finger in the soil and be sure it’s dry between waterings.
Humidity
The humidity level doesn’t really seem to bother this plant one way or another.
Soil
Potting soil is the standard for this plant. A general use potting soil works great.
Fertilizer
This plant only needs fertilizer every few months so mark it on your calendar for once every quarter or so. Be sure that you fertilize directly into the soil and not onto the leaves because it could burn them.
Any plant fertilizer will work and it can be diluted by half and still be plenty of food for this plant.
ZZ Plant Propagation
The easiest way to get new ZZ plants is going to be by division but there are several ways to propagate the ZZ plant. Keep in mind that this is a slow growing plant so the methods will take awhile.
ZZ Plant Division
There are several ways to propagate the ZZ plant but by far, the easiest way is dividing it. If you remove your plant from its pot you’ll see that it has tuberous roots called rhizomes. It’s easy to divide these into more plants.
You can make a small section and create a new small plant, or divide it in half and have two plants that are close to the same size. Of course the more you divide, the smaller the plants will be so be sure to consider that.
There are a couple of other ways to propagate which include using leaf cuttings or stem cuttings but both of these methods are going to be very very slow.
ZZ Plant Leaf Cutting
To propagate by leaf cutting you can just pull a leaf off the stem of your plant. Let it dry a bit (from several hours to overnight) and then place the raw edge into potting mix. It doesn’t have to be buried deeply, just far enough that the leaf will stay in the soil. Be sure that the majority of the leaf stays above the soil and water it.
Then you’ll want to be prepared to wait awhile. A very long while to see something. We’re talking up to a year before you can see anything that might look like progress.
So this method isn’t for the impatient but if you’re up for the challenge and you’ve got some time on your hands then go for it.
Once you’ve planted your leaf here’s what to watch for:
- The leaf dies – if you pull the leaf out of the soil and see that it’s got tubers growing out of it then you’ve got success! Gently replant your new tubers and watch them grow! If you pull the dead leaf out and all you have is a dead leaf, then that’s all you’ve got. Pull of another leaf and try again.
- You can see a new stem – yay you! You’ve got a new plant!
ZZ Plant Stem Cuttings
The last way to propagate your ZZ plant is going to be using stem cuttings. Just take the entire stem and put it in some water. In several months you should see some roots forming on the stem.
You’ll want to wait until the roots look pretty substantial before you try to move your cutting from the vase into the soil. Then you’ll have a new plant!
As you can see, propagating the ZZ plant is not for those that are impatient. We prefer to purchase our plants at a reasonable size and leave the propagation to the experts. (And those with way more patience than we have!)
How to repot your ZZ Plant
When you purchase a plant you’ll want to try to get one close to the size that you like because they grow pretty slowly. While they may eventually get up to 3 feet tall as a houseplant, it takes awhile to see any measurable growth.
Use a pot that’s similar in size to the pot it comes in. You can really leave your ZZ plant in that same pot for as long as you want to, it will rarely need to be replanted.
Pruning the ZZ Plant
If you’ve got dead or dying stems on your plant then you’ll want to prune those out. Generally you’re only going to need to prune if you’re over watering your plant so pruning isn’t something you should have to do very often.
ZZ Plant Problems
The ZZ plant is such a popular choice because it’s so pest and disease free. Your chance of getting aphids is going to be if your plants are outside and get stressed. If you over water too much you increase your chances of root rot. Both of these are easy to avoid.
Root Rot
These plants are well equipped to deal with drought so be sure to let the soil dry out between waterings. Root rot is one of the things that you have to avoid, it’s hard to remedy once it’s set in.
Be sure that your plants are in potting soil and in a well drained pot.
Check to be sure that the soil is dry before watering and water directly into the soil, not onto the plants leaves.
Slow Growth
This is not actually considered a problem for this plant, it’s just a really slow growing houseplant. They tend to grow a bit faster in warmer temperatures, but they are still pretty slow growing.
ZZ Plant Pests
Generally you aren’t going to find pests that bother this houseplant. If you put your plants outside when the weather is nice you might find yourself with some aphids. It’s not too common but it can happen so get yourself some insecticidal soap and rub it on your plant. Check the leaves for a few days (especially underneath) to be sure you got them all and you’ll be fine.
Is the ZZ Plant Poisonous?
Of course a super easy plant that doesn’t have pests has to have a downside right?
Here’s the big drawback, every part of this plant is poisonous. Once upon a time it was thought that this plant was so toxic it could cause cancer and people and pets should not get anywhere near it.
The truth is that it’s poisonous but it doesn’t cause cancer.
If you have sensitive skin it may cause some irritation when you handle the plant so you may want to wear gloves and be sure to wash you hands so that you don’t have any residue on them.
If you’ve got young children or pets then keep this plant out of reach of them. They can cause a nasty stomach upset if ingested and while it’s not likely to be fatal it’s not worth the risk.
If you’re looking for an easy houseplant then get yourself a ZZ Plant!
These are a great plant to add to your houseplant collection and they’ll look shiny and pretty all by themselves or on your plant shelfie with all your other great plants.
