3 Reasons Why You Need A ZZ Plant in Your Life

This houseplant shines—literally! I love the ZZ Plant because it’s gorgeous, tough and so easy to care for.

ZZ plant is also known as Zanzibar Gem, Welcome Plant and its tongue-twisting botanic name Zamioculcas zamifolia. I just repotted mine so I’m sharing that project with you along with tips for keeping your ZZ healthy and looking like its fabulous self.

Here are 3 reasons why I love the ZZ plant!

It tolerates low light
It doesn’t need to be watered frequently
It’s a stunning addition to any home

I’m always interested to know where plants are from and which others are in the same family and/or genus. This shiny beauty shares the same family with these other popular houseplants: pothos, spathiphyllums, agloanemas and diffenbachias.

You can find these plants in my book Keep Your Houseplants Alive if you’re new to the wonderful world of indoor plants.

Some Of Our General Houseplant Guides For Your Reference:

ZZ Plant Care

Here is everything you need to know about how to care for a ZZ plant.

Size

They get about 3-4′ tall & 3-4′ wide. Many consider it to be a slow grower but mine has been growing at a moderate rate.

Exposure

Here’s 1 category where the ZZ Plant really is at the top of the list. It tolerates low light conditions just fine. Your plant will grow much slower but it’ll hang on in like a trooper.

The ZZ prefers natural, bright light which mine gets & that’s why I had to transplant it—it was growing! Mine is spending the summer into fall outdoors here in Tucson but is in the bright shade. Head’s up: no direct sun for this houseplant.

Watering

Easy does it when it comes to watering the ZZ Plant. They grow & spread via swollen rhizomes which are basically underground organs with store nutrients & water. Massive amounts of thick, fleshy roots grow off of these rhizomes & both they & the spongy stems will rot out if you water this plant too frequently.

You want to water it thoroughly, let all the water drain out & let it go dry before you water it again. I water mine here in the desert every 3-4 weeks & when I bring it indoors for the winter, that’ll probably drop to every 8 weeks. Of course, the smaller the pot the more often you’ll need to water the plant. Head’s up: never let this plant directly in water.

Fertilizing

This isn’t always necessary but your ZZ Plant would enjoy a feeding with an organic houseplant fertilizer once in the spring. I top dress mine with worm compost in late March or early April when the roots are really starting to wake up.

Pests

Mine has never gotten any nor have I heard that they’re subject to any. Please let me know if yours has.

Propagation

This is easy to do by either division of the root ball or leaf cuttings.

Flowers

The spathe like blooms are insignificant & appear infrequently. They open close to the base so there’s a chance you could miss them.

Here’s another thing that’s good to know: this plant is shiny on its own. Never spray it with commercial leaf shine because it clogs the pores of the plant.

Because the ZZ Plant tolerates low light & dry air, it makes an excellent office plant.

To sum it all up: ignore this plant and it’ll be happy. Of course, shower it with admiration and praise but no babying is needed with this 1. Water your ZZ Pla nt infrequently, don’t let it sit in water, keep it out of direct sun and never use leaf shine. Sounds like a winner of a houseplant to me!

Happy (indoor) gardening,

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About the Author
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Nell Foster

Nell, the founder of Joy Us garden, was born into a gardening family and grew up in Connecticut’s countryside. After living in Boston, New York, San Francisco, & Santa Barbara, she now calls the Arizona desert home. She studied horticulture & garden design, working in the field all her life. Nell is a gardener, designer, blogger, Youtube creator, & author. She’s been gardening for a very long time & wants to share what she’s learned with you.

www.joyusgarden.com/about/

54 Comments

I have been enjoying my ZZplant for almost a year now! So easy to care for! Thanks for posting this lovely article!!! A true plant lover!

Hi Jill – You’re so right – that’s 1 of the reasons why we love the ZZ Plant. Glad you enjoyed the post, & yes, I’m a true plant lover too! Have a great weekend, Nell

I just love this plant, but wow, yours is much more full than mine! Mine still is growing the new leaf-stalks starting right about now (Jan.) in Seattle, but slowly. Guess I’ll place it in some brighter light to get more growth. I like that the new growth is lighter green for awhile, making a pleasing green-color mixture. Thanks!

I have same plant in my house. I heard it is Poisonous . Is it safe to keep in home.

Please let me know.

thanks in advance

Hi Savitha – Most houseplants are considered to be poisonous in some way or another. Unless you, your family members or your pets plan on eating it, I wouldn’t worry. I have 2 large ZZ plants in my home & we live harmoniously! Nell

I’ve had one for several years, it’s been on a west windowsill in my kitchen. It’s only got 5 stalks to it now. It is getting another new one and I decided to look it up and find out what it was, and now I know it can tolerate low light so I have moved it. I hope it will do better getting it out of the window.

Hi Bonita – My ZZ Plants are in medium light (bright light but not direct) & put out a lot of new growth in spring & summer. Hopefully you’ll see some more new leaf stalks emerging in a few months. Nell

hi! just to ask few question. first,how to take care of my ZZ plant against ants? second,how to re-pot it carefully? how often do i need to water it? thank you! =)

Hi – You have to be careful with what you treat with because you don’t want to kill the plant. If the ants are bad you can always repot the plant being sure to shake all the old soil off the roots. There’s a non-toxic spray made by Eco Smart which worked when I had ants. As for the repotting, ZZ Plants are tough. Here’s how I divided & repotted mine: https://www.joyusgarden.com/propagating-a-zz-plant-by-division/ Nell

Hi,
I have a big zz plant, it’s growing well but one of the stems and its leaves are turning yellow. Don’t know what the problem is? This plant was bought 6 months back, I keep it in a low light room close to a window, and I water it once every 4 weeks. Any suggestions?

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