ZZ plant care: light, water and yellow leaves
A ZZ plant grows well in bright, indirect light and copes with very little, in a free-draining mix watered only once it has dried out. Overwatering is almost the only thing that kills it, and yellow leaves are usually the first sign. This page covers placement, watering, yellow leaves, varieties, propagation and pet safety.
- Bright, indirect light is best, but it tolerates low light and a lamp-lit room.
- Water only when the compost has dried out, then water thoroughly.
- Yellow leaves usually mean too much water: let it dry out before watering again.
What a ZZ plant is
The ZZ plant, Zamioculcas zamiifolia, is an aroid from eastern and southern Africa, in the same family as the monstera. NC State lists it wild in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and KwaZulu-Natal, and its other names include Zanzibar gem, emerald palm and aroid palm. Its stiff, glossy stems carry six to eight pairs of leaflets, each 2.5 to 5 cm long, and grow from thick, fleshy rhizomes under the soil.
Those rhizomes store water, UConn and Clemson both say, which is what lets it go long stretches unwatered and why overwatering, not drought, is the usual way to lose one. That puts it among the easy house plants that forgive neglect, and the plant care guide has every other species on the site.
ZZ plant varieties, from Raven to Zenzi
The varieties differ in colour and size, not in care. NC State describes Raven, whose new growth comes up lime green and turns a purple-black as it ages, and Chameleon, whose leaves come up golden-yellow and turn dark green. Clemson adds a variegated form and Zenzi, a dwarf of 25 to 30 cm.
The plain species grows 60 to 120 cm tall and wide, NC State and Clemson say, which is more plant than a small wall pocket holds for long. Zenzi is the one that stays in proportion.
| Variety | What it looks like | Light it needs | Suits a pocket? |
|---|
| Zamioculcas zamiifolia | Glossy dark green leaflets on thick stems, 60 to 120 cm | Bright indirect, tolerates low | While young; it outgrows it |
| Zamioculcas zamiifolia ‘Zenzi’ | Compact dwarf, the same glossy green, 25 to 30 cm | Bright indirect, tolerates low | Yes, the best fit |
| Zamioculcas zamiifolia Raven | Lime green new growth turning purple-black | Bright indirect, tolerates low | While young |
| Zamioculcas zamiifolia ‘Chameleon’ | Golden-yellow new leaves turning dark green | Bright indirect, tolerates low | While young |
| Zamioculcas zamiifolia ‘Lucky’ | Wide green leaflets with rounded tips | Bright indirect, tolerates low | While young |
| Zamioculcas zamiifolia, variegated | Green leaflets with pale variegation | Bright indirect, tolerates low | While young |
Where to put a ZZ plant: how much light it needs
Bright, indirect light suits it best, Clemson says, and it tolerates low light. UConn keeps it in indirect light and warns that direct sun scalds and yellows the leaves. NC State lists it for deep or partial shade.
It is one of the few plants that works in a windowless room: UConn says it suits a windowless office as long as it gets fluorescent light for several hours a day. That puts it with the snake plant among the plants for a low light room.
How often to water a ZZ plant
Water only once the compost has dried out, then water thoroughly, and never on a fixed day. NC State and Clemson both wait until it has dried out completely; UConn lets it dry slightly and says to water sparingly. Push a finger into the compost to check, and expect to water less often in winter, as NC State does.
The rhizomes are the reason to wait. They store water, so the plant goes a long time between drinks, and UConn says overwatering is just about the only thing that kills it, through yellow leaves and root rot. When in doubt, wait.
Why ZZ plant leaves turn yellow
Usually too much water. UConn names overwatering as the cause of yellow leaves and root rot. Check the compost: if it is wet, stop watering until it has dried out, and if the stems are soft at the base, repot into fresh, dry, free-draining mix.
The other cause is sun. UConn says direct sun scalds and yellows the leaves, so a plant on a sunny sill that yellows in dry compost needs moving back from the window. What yellow leaves are telling you sorts out the pattern on the leaf.
Compost, feeding and repotting a ZZ plant
Use a mix that drains quickly. Clemson makes one of half peat-free or coir-based potting compost, a quarter perlite and a quarter sand, and NC State uses a well-drained potting soil, organic or sandy.
It needs little feed. NC State feeds a balanced liquid houseplant fertiliser once or twice a year, Clemson once or twice in the growing season, and UConn once or twice at half strength. UConn says it spreads sideways over time, so repot when the rhizomes press against the sides of the pot.
How fast a ZZ plant grows
Slowly. NC State calls its growth rate slow and Clemson very slow. UConn says it grows faster in warmth, and it spreads sideways over time as the rhizomes multiply.
NC State describes the stems as rising from the rhizome, so new growth comes up from below as the plant ages. The route to a fuller plant is time, warmth and bright, indirect light.
Can a ZZ plant go outside?
Only in a mild climate or for the warm months. NC State rates it for USDA zones 9 and 10, Clemson keeps it above 16°C, and UConn gives 13 to 27°C as its range. Out of doors it needs shade, since UConn says direct sun scalds the leaves.
Is a ZZ plant toxic to cats and dogs?
Yes. NC State lists calcium oxalate in the leaves, rates the poison severity as medium and gives vomiting and diarrhoea if the leaves are eaten in quantity. UConn says the crystals can be extremely painful and to keep it away from children and pets, and Clemson marks it not pet safe. The ASPCA’s database does not list it under any of its names.
Wear gloves to divide or cut it, and keep it where a pet cannot chew it. For a plant the ASPCA does list as non-toxic, the spider plant takes a similar bright-to-medium spot.
A ZZ plant on the wall
An upright plant with glossy, stiff stems reads from across a room, and a young ZZ or a Zenzi fits a wall pocket where a mature species plant would outgrow it. Because it takes low light, it is one of the few plants that can go on a wall away from a window. Living wall systems, compared covers the other ways to put plants on a wall.
A pocket stands proud of the wall with air on every side, so the substrate dries from more directions than a pot on a shelf does, which suits a plant that wants to dry out between waterings. The Medium pocket holds 1.8 litres of substrate, about what a 15 cm pot takes. Keep it off a wall in direct sun.
The board hangs by a slot near its top on one wall hook, so the wall side is one screw, one plug and one drilled hole. Treat the filled weight like a heavy framed picture: plasterboard takes an expanding plug, brick a standard one, and a tiled wall needs a tile bit before the masonry bit. The mounting guide goes through it step by step, and how to hang plants without drilling covers what holds when a hole is not an option.
- Fill the pocket halfway with a gritty, free-draining mix.
- Ease the plant out with gloves on, keeping the rhizomes whole.
- Set the rhizomes at the depth they grew before, top up and firm gently.
- Water until it drains, then not again until the compost has dried out.
ZZ plant problems and how to fix them
| What you see | Why | The fix |
|---|
| Yellow leaves in wet compost | Overwatering | Stop watering until the compost has dried out completely. |
| Soft, dark stem bases | Root and rhizome rot | Repot into dry, free-draining mix, cutting away soft rhizomes. |
| Yellow, scalded patches on a sunny sill | Direct sun | Move it back into bright, indirect light. |
| Little or no new growth | Low light or cool temperatures | Move it brighter and warmer; it is slow by nature. |
| Rhizomes pressing against the pot | The plant has filled its pot | Repot one size up, or divide the rhizomes. |
| Small brown bumps on stems and leaflets | Scale insects, which NC State names | Scrape or wipe them off and check the plant again. |
How to propagate a ZZ plant
NC State propagates it by division or by leaf cuttings. Division gives a full plant at once; a leaf cutting is slow, and UConn says a rhizome typically forms within nine months indoors. Wear gloves for both, since the sap carries the calcium oxalate NC State lists.
- To divide, take the plant out of its pot and separate the rhizomes, each piece with stems and roots.
- Pot each piece at the depth it grew before, in free-draining mix.
- For a leaf cutting, remove a whole leaf from a stem, as UConn does.
- Set the base in a moist, free-draining medium and keep it warm, in bright, indirect light.
- Keep it just moist while the rhizome forms, and pot it on once new growth appears.
Does a ZZ plant purify the air?
Not measurably in a real room. The figures quoted come from sealed test chambers, and the air exchange in an ordinary home outweighs anything a potted plant does.
Can a ZZ plant live in a room with no windows?
UConn says it suits a windowless office as long as it gets fluorescent light for several hours a day. NC State calls its growth slow in any case.
Does a ZZ plant flower?
Rarely indoors. NC State describes a green, sheath-like spathe around a white spadix, and UConn says small brownish to yellow flowers appear in late summer.
How big does a ZZ plant get?
NC State and Clemson both give 60 to 120 cm tall and wide. Clemson lists Zenzi as a dwarf of 25 to 30 cm.
Why is it called a ZZ plant?
From the initials of its botanical name, Zamioculcas zamiifolia. NC State also lists it as Zanzibar gem, zuzu plant, emerald palm, eternity plant and aroid palm.
References