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3 Reasons Why You Need A ZZ Plant in Your Life

ByNell Foster Published on

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
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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.

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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 Plant 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,

Signed by Nell Foster

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54 Comments

  1. Hi Vandana – I kept this ZZ Plant outdoors here in Tucson for the 1st summer. Temps. get over 100F here & it was fine in the shade. It’s now indoors. It will be fine out of direct sun but just make sure it doesn’t stay consistently wet. I’ve found they like to grow on the dry side. Nell

  2. Thank you Elizabeth! Now’s a great time to cut the plant back. Nell

  3. Hi Nell,
    My zz plant’s leaves stucked up from the day I bought…..why

  4. Hi – I’m not quite sure what you mean by “stucked up”. No emerging? If you mean not opening up, I’ve never heard of a ZZ Plant doing that. Other plants yes, but not this one. Nell

  5. Hi Nell!

    Great tutorial! I bought one yesterday from Home Depot and it looks nice and healthy. I watered it when I got home but the top of the soil is already dry. Should I still hold off and water in three weeks? Or did I simply not give it enough water the first time? It’s not a large pot: roughly 6″ tall and 5″ in circumference, and I live in NYC, and the temps are all over the place this summer.

  6. My ZZ plant has been doing well, but now stems are bending over (falling over) significantly rather than growing tall and straight. It is near a window and gets some late afternoon light. No direct sunlight.
    I do not think it’s under watered. Could this be too much water? Any other ideas? Thanks

  7. Hi I just received may ZZE plant today and I replanted it in soil that has fertilizer already in it will this be OK for my ZZ plant ?

  8. Hi Payal – Thank you! Your ZZ in a smaller sized pot so you’ll need to water it more often. I live in the hot AZ desert where I water my ZZs in 10 & 14″ pots every 3 weeks. They don’t need watering too often. It’s better to thoroughly water the plant & let it go almost dry before watering again. Nell

  9. Hi Juli – I water my ZZ Plants every 3 weeks here in Tucson & they’re fine. The roots are on the thicker side & store water. It could be too much water but I can’t say not knowing how you’re caring for it. My 2 ZZs are older now & as the grow & get longer, they get heavier. That causes them to bend a bit. Nell

  10. Hi Hilary – Those mixes contain a slow release fertilizer. I’ve never used them but it should be fine. Just be careful not to supplementally fertilize the ZZ for at least 6 months. Nell

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