ZZ Plant (Zanzibar Gem) Care | Everything You Need To know
ZZ plant, also known as “Fat Boy Plant” or “Eternity Plant,” is the most popular houseplant right now. This article will discuss almost everything about the ZZ plant, such as its watering routine, humidity, light, and fertilization.
So, let’s start.
Table of Contents
How to Water Your ZZ Plant: Essential Tips
How much water should you give to your ZZ plant? It depends on various factors.
First, it depends on the size of the pot your ZZ plant is in. Second, the humidity level in your area is high. You might place your ZZ plant indoors or outdoors. Usually, in summertime, we turn our AC on, and in wintertime, we turn our heat on, which can lower the humidity level at home. However, the humidity is usually higher if you place it outdoors, especially in summer. However, because of the high temperature in summer, the water in the soil might evaporate faster.
So it depends. If you want an answer to when you should water your ZZ plant, I have two tips:
- Use Soil Meter
- Observation
Using a Soil Meter for ZZ Plant Care
The first one is using a soil meter. It can tell you how much light is getting and how much water is still in the soil. If you don’t know how to use a soil meter, Click Here for a detailed guideline.
Observing Your ZZ Plant’s Watering Needs
After you water your ZZ plant, lift the pot. Quite heavy, right? But after waiting probably a month or a few weeks, you lift the pot again.
If it’s way lighter, you should water your ZZ plant. The ZZ plant is quite hardy. It does not require a lot of water, and it prefers to dry out completely between waterings.
Humidity Level
Many indoor plants require at least 50 or 60 percent humidity for their living environment. But in my house, especially in winter, I don’t use a humidifier in my living room, so the humidity level is usually around 40 and sometimes 35, which is very low, and I don’t recommend providing this humidity level to your plants.
However, I didn’t see any issues with my ZZ plants. They’re still growing strong, and they might stop growing because of the winter and the cold temperatures, but the leaves do not turn brown or get crispy; they’re not that finicky. So, I think the ZZ plant can tolerate low humidity levels.
Optimal Light Conditions for Your ZZ Plant
Light is essential to every plant on earth. Although the ZZ plant can tolerate low light, this does not mean it will grow well in a low-light setting.
If you want to know why my ZZ plant gets so lush and bushy, I can give you the tip of giving it bright, indirect, and even direct sunlight. ZZ plants like bright indirect sunlight, but if you provide afternoon direct light to them, their leaves will turn yellow. You will notice that.
Bright, indirect sunlight is the key. If you put your ZZ plant in the bathroom without a window, yeah, it might survive. However, it might not thrive because there is no food.
Light is the food for most plants, so I leave mine outdoors for summer and put it by my east-facing front door. It gets pretty gentle morning sunlight but no afternoon sunlight, but it is still pretty bright.
This is why my ZZ plant got nine new shoots in the summer. If you want your ZZ plant to grow faster and give you more new shoots, maybe you can consider bringing it outdoors during the warmer months. Here is a detailed Article on the Light Requirements of ZZ Plant from livelyroot.com
I don’t fertilize my plants very often. I only fertilize once a year, only during the growing season. So, what do I mean by the growing season? Is it from spring to fall? Yes, but no.
The beginning of spring is March or April. It depends on the area that you are staying. And the end of fall is October.
I fertilize all my indoor plants in late spring or early summer to ensure consistent and stable temperatures. Sometimes, in early spring or late fall, you feel that the weather is so lovely today. It’s 70 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 degrees Celsius.
It’s perfect. A couple of days later, it got so cold that it lasted for a whole week. That’s why I don’t usually fertilize my plants during early spring and late fall.
In my opinion, as long as you fertilize your plants between May and August, they will love it. I only fertilize my plants once because of the fertilizer I use, but it really depends on what kind of fertilizer you use.
Some require fertilizer once a month, and some require it every other month, so make sure you read the labels.
Tips For Repotting
A couple of tips that I can give you. One is always repot your ZZ plants during the growing months.
Why? Because of the lower temperature, plants stop growing in winter. Repotting your plants in winter gives them a shock, and that is not very good for them.
Second, ZZ plants prefer to be slightly root-bound. So, if you take your plant out of the pot and see all the roots root-bound, it does not mean you have to report it right away. So wait for the warmer months and report it.
Just give it a slightly larger pot. For example, a 6-inch pot. If I need to repot my ZZ plant, I will select a 7-inch or 8-inch top pot for ZZ plant.
Common Issues about ZZ
Now, let’s talk about some common issues that ZZ plants might have:
Yellowing Leaves
It could be because of very strong direct sunlight. The second one is either overwatering or underwatering. So I have an experience that I can share with you. One of my ZZ Plant’s leaf was browning, crispy, and yellowing. And I tried to pull it out.
The leaves could easily come off, but the stem part was hard. So why do those tiny leaves turn yellow? My guess is underwatering because I left the plant outdoors for the entire summer. And I only water that once a week or every 10 days. So this is why I think it turns yellow from underwatering.
And another reason why ZZ plant’s leaves can turn yellow is because of overwatering or root rot. If you water your plants too often, especially during winter months, it’s very easy to cause yellowing leaves. So what I would suggest you guys do if you’re not sure if it’s underwatering or overwatering is:
- Take the plant out of the pot and examine the roots.
- If the roots are more brown and feel mushy to the touch, they are rotting.
- Use a pair of scissors to cut away the rotting parts.
- Repot the plant immediately.
- If this happens in winter, repotting right away is necessary despite the usual recommendation against winter repotting, as root rot is a serious issue.
Yellowing Spots on Leaves
So the second common issue that ZZ plant might have is yellowing spots on leaves. If it’s underwatering, overwatering, or too strong of the light, the leaves usually get a lighter color and turn yellow. But the yellowing spots that I’m talking about are like this which I posted on Instagram.
So this is a very, very sad ZZ plant. I got it a month before I got a new one.
The new one looks way healthier. Both are from Costa Farms, and I got them from Whole Foods. I provide the same type of care.
So I was wondering why the new plant looks so healthy, with no yellowing spots, but this one has tons of yellowing spots, and the leaves are losing and falling off, and I just lost most of the plant. I would shout to Costa Farms because I thought this might be a type of disease, and I couldn’t figure it out, so I asked them for some suggestions. And the feedback that I received from them is that this is not a disease.
It is cold damage. When they ship their plants to big box stores, they usually control the temperature in the truck. For some reason, the temperature is probably set too low.
That’s why the plants get a lot of yellowing spots. That’s one reason why, in winter, we should keep the house temperature at least 55 or 60 Fahrenheit and above.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Should I Water My ZZ Plant?
A: It depends. My ZZ plant stays outdoors for summer, so I water it probably every ten days to every two weeks. Is it too often? No, because sometimes the high of the day reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about 35 or 37 degrees Celsius, which is very hot.
I need to ensure my ZZ plant gets enough Water since it evapWaters so fast. But if you put your ZZ plant indoors for the entire summer, maybe you’re right. You only need to water it once a month or every other month, so it really depends.
Q: Why does the ZZ Plant need less Water?
A: Their leaWaterre shiny and thick, and their stems are super thick. And if you remove a couple of inches of soil from the top, you might see the potato thingy on the bottom of the stem. So, these are the three places where the ZZ plant stores Water.
Because those watering places store a lot of Water after you water your plant, you don’t have to water your ZZ plant very often.
I also got questions from people that my ZZ plant is so lightweight, like the pot, that I think I should water it. But I heard online that you should only water a ZZ plant once a month.
 *(Include an image of droopy leaves)* Some plants, such as calatheas, prefer moist soil at all times; otherwise, they develop that signature brown tissue damage on the leaves. The annoying thing here is that the damage cannot be reversed and can only be cut away, leaving you with a damaged plant. If the soil of your plant is bone dry, you'll notice that it's pulling away from the sides of the pot. This is because the soil has shrunk due to a lack of moisture, so make sure you are not letting this happen by watering a little more frequently. #### Signs Your Plant is Overwatered (darkgreen) Overwatering plants is a really common way that people kill their plants. Beginner plant enthusiasts often have a common misconception that houseplants need lots of water, but the reality is that these plants are native to hot climates where they may get periods of drought followed by large rain which rehydrates them. **Yellowing leaves** (red) can indicate an overwatering problem as well as an underwatering problem. If you are watering your plant too often and the soil is always wet, this can lead to root rot, which will begin to affect the leaves of your plant. **Limp and mushy leaves** (red) also indicate that you are overwatering your plant. This is particularly true with succulents such as Echeverias. Echeverias store water in their thick leaves and have difficulty storing excess water if you are watering your plant too often. This leads to mushy plants that eventually fall off.  *(Include an image of yellowing leaves)* Philodendron and Pothos plants tend to get mushy leaves that fall off if the soil is consistently soggy. My Philodendron Birkin recently developed some new brown leaves that fell off because I was overwatering it. Whereas crispy brown edges on leaves indicate an underwatering problem, if the whole leaves are turning brown, this tends to mean that the plant tissue is rotting due to too much water. You may also notice some water droplets on the ends of the leaves of some of your plants. This is the plant perspiring excess water through its leaves and can indicate that you are giving the plant too much water. Now, this tends to happen on plants that prefer drier soil, and I notice it quite often on my Philodendron Birkin and my Tradescantia Nanook. **Increased presence of fungus gnats** (red) can also be a sign that your plant is too moist. Fungus gnats like a moist top two inches of soil to breed and lay their eggs, so if your soil is wet, it creates a breeding ground for gnats. If you see lots of flea-like flies jumping around the top of your soil, I would just dial back on the watering and let the top two inches of the soil dry out before watering again. #### Watering Tips (darkgreen) It is important to allow the soil of your houseplant to dry out between waterings. This prevents the possibility of over-watering, which is one of the most common reasons people kill their plants. **Check the soil moisture** (red) before watering your plant by sticking your finger two inches into the soil. If it feels wet, leave it a few days and then check again. An even better way to check the soil moisture is to invest in a moisture meter. This device needs no batteries and tells you exactly how much moisture is in the soil, giving you control over watering your plants.  *(Include an image of a moisture meter)* When you identify that your plant needs water, make sure you give it a thorough soaking. Take your plant to a sink area and soak the soil four or five times until water drains out of the bottom each time. This ensures that all the soil in the pot gets moistened and there are no dry patches. **Bottom watering** (teal) is a method that has changed the health of my plants since I implemented it a couple of years ago. Place your plant in a container of water and let it absorb moisture from the bottom up. This method prevents water from getting on the leaves, which can cause leaf tissue damage. I hope this article was helpful. Now you know when to water your plants and when not to. Apply this knowledge to your plants and see the growth. Happy gardening! --- Incorporating these visual and formatting enhancements will make your article more attractive and engaging for your readers.](https://growinggaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/pexels-artempodrez-7242495-scaled.jpg)
