ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia): Plant Care and Growing Guide – House Plants Expert

The Zamioculcas zamiifolia plant, more commonly known as the ZZ plant, is an easy-to-grow and care-for indoor plant that displays small glossy green foilage on stems that can grow up to 3 ft long indoors. Colors can range from almost yellow to black making an interesting plant for your home.

The Zamioculcas zamiifolia (botanical name) can tolerate a wide range of environments. They grow well in low to bright lighting and survive with little water or thrive with more. I have grown and propagated this plant for years now so let’s see if this is the right plant for you.

ZZ Plant Care

Zamioculcas zamiifolia Description

This is a rhizome plant that’s a real joy to grow and to have displayed within a home. Many people mention it’s a slow grower, mine grew two feet in three years, which is not that slow for an indoor house plant. The growth rate will depend on how much sunlight the plant gets (do not allow the plant to sit in direct sunlight – though) and how you meet the other needs of this plant. There is also a smaller version called the Zamicro that is a third smaller.

As mentioned above the plant tolerates low-light conditions, bright indirect light, and different levels of watering. You will find the watering needs depend on how much light it receives (i.e., less light = less water, and more light = more water).

How It Looks

This houseplant grows similarly to tree plants or palms. It has stems with many leaves. The leaves are a fleshy type a couple of inches in length and an inch or so in width. Some of these stems from the plant will grow straight up and then others arch over, which may encourage you to prune odd-looking stems to keep the plant looking full and shaped well. A nice side benefit is you can propagate these cutting and share you plant with others.

Flowering

The ZZ plant does produce small flowers at the base of the plant when it’s grown in its natural habitat outdoors. The flower is a spathe type with a spadix that is not easily seen even when it does grow – because foilage can hide the flowers. Flowers will grow at the base of the stems. With advances in indoor lighting, temperature, and humidity control you may be able to produce flowers inside the home.

Displaying

The ZZ plant isn’t that fussy about where it is displayed. The place where it grows just needs to be able to accommodate its size in diameter, which can become over 2ft once it matures – making a table a nice place to display the plant.

Here’s my Chameleon plant. I have both a Raven zamioculcas zamiifolia and this gorgeous Chameleon plant cultivar. New growth comes out bright yellow and hardens off a green. Like many cultivars, the Chameleon plant is a patented mutation and came out of Thailand in 2017.

While it looks like it, this plant is not truly variegated. The chameleon plant has some leaves that are variegated, while others are pure yellow and some pure green. That is the difference.

The chameleon plant is metachromatic. This means that the leaves start out yellow, then turn variegated green, and finally turn solid green. The leaves will not change color again once they are solid green. It makes such an interesting plant and a conversation for your plant geek friends who don’t have one!

Is it Poisonous?

All parts of this plant are toxic if ingested by children, cats and dogs.

Zamioculcas Zamiifolia Facts

Potential Problems

This house plant is a tough cookie and will survive a certain amount of neglect. The easiest mistake to make and most common is overwatering.

• Lower leaves turning yellow: A small amount of lower leaves turning yellow and falling is quite normal. If many leaves are turning yellow – check that you’re not overwatering.
• Leaf tips turning brown: The cause is likely to be dry air and low humidity. Misting the leaves can help improve humidity.
• Leaves turning brown: Overwatering is the most common cause here, especially if the leaflet feels a bit damp and not dry.

Frequently Asked Questions about Zamioculcas Zamiifolia

Conclusion

This is the ultimate plant for busy workers who have little time to care for their plants. The ZZ plant is almost indestructible. It will tolerate months of neglect and low light and still look great. A lot of people have mistaken these for fake plants because of their glossy-looking foliage and its ability to thrive on neglect. 

The ZZ plant is an elegant addition to any room, perfect if you just want a decorative piece that requires minimal effort. These plants grow best in bright or moderately light areas but will still survive in low light. It’s a great plant to brighten up a dark office where it will only receive artificial light. While they can tolerate direct light, either sunlight or artificial, you may want to minimize their exposure to keep their bright green color. If the plant has received too much light, you may notice the color starts to fade, as well as curling leaves, yellowing, and leaning. The leaning simply means it’s trying to escape the light source.

Like cacti and some succulents, these plants do better with less water. This plant only needs watering if you can see that the soil has dried out. If you notice the leaves yellowing, the soil molding, or a rotting smell, you have overwatered your plant. This plant is fine without fertilizer, but you can add half-strength once or twice a year (in the summer months) for maximum growth. 

Elyssa Goins

Elyssa Goins is an experienced house plant hobbyist who maintains over a hundred plants. She is a gardener, beekeeper, and a proud mother of four.  She is a member of the American Horticultural Society, has a published study in the National Social Science Association, and loves to talk about her love of plants.  For the past twenty years, she’s been all about growing and caring for various fruits, veggies, herbs, livestock, kids, and houseplants. Managing a big garden to feed four growing kids and raising dairy goats has taught her so much about being an excellent plant parent and now is her time to share with you.