How to Grow a ZZ Plant: Care Methods and Precautions
SummaryPotting soil: The soil must have good permeability; it is recommended to mix peat, coarse sand or rinsed coal cinders with a small amount of garden soil. Temperature: The growing temperature is 25-32°C; growth stops above 35°C, and frost damage occurs below 5°C. Light: It likes light and tolerates shade; avoid intense sunlight, scorching sun and direct sun exposure. Fertilizing: Fertilize once a month during the growing season; do not fertilize in winter. Watering: Once every half month in winter, once a week in spring and autumn, once every 3 days in summer. Pests and diseases: Prevent tuber rot, brown spot disease, etc.
The ZZ plant has a very good meaning, representing continuous incoming wealth. Because of this good meaning, many people grow a pot of it at home, hoping to add good luck to the household. But many problems arise during the growing process, so the editor will introduce its cultivation method to everyone, so that everyone can easily grow the ZZ plant well.
How to Grow a ZZ Plant
The best growing temperature for the ZZ plant is 20-32°C. In summer, the outdoor temperature is relatively high, so it is recommended not to place it where the temperature is above 35°C. Similarly, in winter the temperature is too low, so it is best not to place it where the temperature is below 10°C. If it is a potted ZZ plant, place it indoors or in the living room in summer and winter, and it must also be ventilated; it is not suitable to keep it stuffy.
ZZ Plant Cultivation Methods and Precautions
1. Cultivation Methods
1. Key Points for Choosing Potting Soil
The basic requirement for the ZZ plant's growing soil is good permeability. Peat, coarse sand, or rinsed coal cinders mixed with a small amount of garden soil are mostly used as the growing medium. The ZZ plant has large tubers, a well-developed root system, and relatively long pinnate compound leaves, so during the growing season you should observe it more and promptly repot and change the soil according to its growth. In addition, if water accumulates in the pot, promptly repot and change the soil.
2. Cultivation Temperature Control
The normal growing temperature for the ZZ plant is 25-32°C. Too high or too low is not good for the growth of the ZZ plant. Above 35°C the ZZ plant will stop growing, and below 5°C the ZZ plant will suffer frost damage.
3. Use of Light
The ZZ plant is a cultivated plant that likes light and tolerates shade. During cultivation, you should create an environment with relatively good sunlight and a certain amount of shade for it. Like all indoor flower cultivation, ZZ plant cultivation also avoids intense sunlight, scorching sun and direct sun exposure. Especially after rain and clearing in early summer and around noon in summer, avoid intense sunlight, otherwise it will be scorched.
4. Fertilizing
The ZZ plant relatively likes fertilizer. In addition to adding an appropriate amount of fertilizer when planting, it can be fertilized once a month during the growing season. But it should not be fertilized in winter, to avoid fertilizer damage to the roots under low-temperature conditions.
2. Precautions
1. Precautions for Watering
The ZZ plant is relatively drought-tolerant. In winter, water once every half month; in spring and autumn, water once a week; in summer, water once every 3 days (you can also replace watering with spraying, especially during the severe cold period in winter). Do not use too much water each time you water.
2. Pest and Disease Control
The main pests and diseases of ZZ plant cultivation are tuber rot, brown spot disease, etc. You can use 1500-times liquid of thiophanate-methyl suspension concentrate and 1000-times liquid of Ridomil alternately.
How the ZZ Plant Overwinters
In winter, the ZZ plant is best kept between 8°C and 10°C. When the indoor temperature is below 3°C, the ZZ plant will be frostbitten or frozen to death. In winter, the pot should be placed by a window with sufficient light, otherwise the leaf color will turn yellow.
In winter, special attention should be paid to the potting soil not being excessively moist; slightly dry is better, otherwise under low-temperature conditions, overly wet potting soil is more likely to cause the plant's root system to rot.
How to Prune a ZZ Plant
1. Pinching: Pinching the ZZ plant is to inhibit the tree's height growth and promote the flat spreading of side branches; the tender tips of the branches can be removed.
2. Bud removal: Many adventitious buds will grow on the base and trunk of the ZZ plant, and they should be removed in time to avoid wasting nutrients. However, for the strong buds at individual positions lacking branches, care should be taken to keep them, so as to cultivate them into useful branches.
3. Leaf removal: The best ornamental period of the ZZ plant is mostly during the budding period of new leaves. At this time the leaves are small, or brilliantly colorful, or so green they seem to drip, and very pleasing to look at. By removing old leaves, the tree can send out new leaves again, which adds another excellent ornamental period.
Although the ZZ plant is good-looking, growing it is not an easy thing, and overwintering is also a great test for it. It likes to live in a warm environment, and a suitable temperature is quite important to it, so in winter it is best to put it in a warm room, but the indoor temperature should not be too high.