Zamioculcas zamiifolia is becoming more popular as an indoor plant because of its glossy, dark-green foliage, limited disease and insect problems and performance under low light and restricted water availability. It is almost impossible to kill.
Zamioculcas zamiifolia also called as ZZ plant, Zanzibar gem, Zuzu plant, aroid palm, eternity plant, emerald palm, Caladium zamiaefolium, Zamioculcas loddigesii, Zamioculcas lanceolata., is a only species of the genus Zamioculcas. This species was described by Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler in 1905. The botanical name derives from on the one hand the superficial similarity of its foliage to that of the cycad genus Zamia and on the other hand its kinship to the genus Colocasia, whose name comes from a word culcas or colcas in a Middle Eastern language of antiquity and which is named qolqas in Arabic.
IDENTIFY ZAMIOCULAS ZAMIIFOLIA - ZZ PLANT
Zamioculcas zamiifolia is native to eastern Africa, from southern Kenya to northeastern South Africa. It grows on moist forest and savannas, seasonally dormant or evergreen.
It is a stemless tropical herbaceous perennial, normally evergreen, but becomes deciduous during drought, surviving drought due to the rhizome that stores water until rainfall resumes. The plant can grow 40 to 70 cm height, and may have a wide spread of 50 to 100 cm. Larger plants will have a 90 to 150 cm overall spread.
ZZ plant has thick, fleshy petioles supporting attractive dark green and glossy alternate pinnate leaflets. In the dry season the leaflets fall and the stalks wither, leaving swollen bases to tide the plant over to the next rains. Petioles arise from succulent rhizomes that can range from 0.4 to 10 cm in diameter. Mature plants can form a short yellow-brown flowering spadix at the base of the plant, but inflorescences do not have ornamental value.
Aroid palm is becoming more popular as an indoor plant because of its glossy, dark-green foliage, limited disease and insect problems and performance under low light and restricted water availability. It is almost impossible to kill. In 2002, the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association named the ZZ plant a Florida Plant of the Year.
ZAMIOCULAS ZAMIIFOLIA - ZZ PLANT CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Zamioculcas zamiifolia prefers bright, indirect light with optimum light level of 1250-2500 ft. candles, or 80-90% shade and is more tolerant of low light levels than other foliage plants. It is easily maintained and adds stalks and new leaves under interior low light environments. It can grow and produce new leaves under an interior low light level of 25 foot candles for more than one year. The plants can be placed on office desks, table tops or placed on the floor, even in corners where light levels are low.
Temperature:
It is hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 9b-11. Ideal temperatures are between 70-90°F with the humidity level of 90%. Warm temperatures improve leaf production. Keep the plant away from drafty windows and air conditioners. Plants grown at a low relative humidity (less than 50% and a temperature above 79˚F may also show leaf tip burn symptoms. Overhead misting and steam or fog should be used to maintain high relative humidity.
Substrate and growing media:
ZZ plant is tolerant to various cultivation conditions, but you should a commercial potting mix which is peat based and well draining with good aeration. You can use a lime free soil that retains water yet drains well like 70-80% sphagnum peat, and pine bark, and 20-30% perlite, vermiculite and pumice. The mixes should have a pH of 6.0 to 7.0 with an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.0 to 2.0 dS/m.
Always use a pot with a hole and provide a good drainage. Pot sizes should be increased as the plants grow to provide room for the increased number and size of rhizomes.
Only repot plants in the Spring if necessary - this plant is slow growing. Do not repot plants in containers that exceed more than 2” diameter greater than the old container. For example: If you are repotting 4” houseplant it should be re-potted into a 6” container.
Watering:
About once every 10-14 days. Allow soil to dry out completely and water less often in winter. Drip or sub-irrigation is preferable because overhead irrigation leaves water residue on the glossy leaf surfaces and reduces overall plant appearance. Over watering may destroy this plant through tuber rot.
Zamioculcas zamiifolia can survive without being watered for 3 to 4 months. The drought tolerance is probably due to its waxy and shiny leaves and fleshy stems, which have extremely low rates of transpiration, and its thick rhizomes, which store water.
Fertilizer:
Feed with a mild liquid, indoor plant fertilizer about 1-2 times a month during the growing season. A controlled release fertilizer with a 3-1-2 ratio and micronutrients is best. If using liquid feed, apply 200 ppm for drip irrigation or 100-150 if sub-irrigation. Do not fertilize in winter.
Rest period:
Aroid palm have a natural "resting period" during the winter months and will not produce new shoots during this time. It's best to hold off the fertilizer during this period. Usually around the middle of March, plants will resume making new shoots.
Propagation:
Propagation is vegetative using leaf cuttings or division. Single leaflets can be inserted into cells of plug trays filled with a potting medium. Keep the medium moist in a shaded greenhouse under a light level of 1000 to 1500 foot candles and a temperature of 75°F to 85°F. Rooted cuttings were transplanted into 4-inch pots and grown at 90˚F under a 16-hour photoperiod provided by high-pressure sodium lamps. For division, the tuber-like rhizomes can be separated and potted.
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