The Amazing ZZ! I had to share this bc it’s really quit...
The Amazing ZZ!
I had to share this bc it’s really quite incredible!! Today is the first time I’ve watered this ZZ plant since 01.25.25. Yes, you read that correctly and no, it is not a typo!!! The last time I watered this plant was 1 year, 2 months, and 16 days ago!!!! How wild is that!!! Truly the amazing ZZ!!
#HappyPlants #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict #SucculentLove #PlantTherapy #PetsAndPlants #PlantCorner #NEPAGregGang #greenthumbwannabe #GregGang #Greggers #GreggersSupportingGreggers #GregFam #gregteam #ZzPlant
I had to share this bc it’s really quite incredible!! Today is the first time I’ve watered this ZZ plant since 01.25.25. Yes, you read that correctly and no, it is not a typo!!! The last time I watered this plant was 1 year, 2 months, and 16 days ago!!!! How wild is that!!! Truly the amazing ZZ!!
#HappyPlants #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict #SucculentLove #PlantTherapy #PetsAndPlants #PlantCorner #NEPAGregGang #greenthumbwannabe #GregGang #Greggers #GreggersSupportingGreggers #GregFam #gregteam #ZzPlant
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@MamaLinne good question!! So yes, it was done purposefully…I had seen a video on YouTube that a gentleman had made explaining exactly what’s happening below the soil line with ZZ plants. At the time when he made his video, he was around 8 or 9 months with no watering and after listening and watching the video, it seemed to me to make a lot of sense so I decided I was gonna give it a try. In the beginning I watched very carefully bc it’s so counterintuitive as a green thumb. As time went by tho and I saw not only was it surviving but it was thriving, I became more relaxed about not watering her. I’ve really been trying to get to know all of my plants and to watch for the visual cues they give when they are thirst. Calathea’s leaves will curl, succulents will get wrinkly, aloes leaves will start to thin, etc. When a ZZ is thirsty, the stocks will actually start to show vertical wrinkles. So when I started to see the vertical wrinkling, I knew she was thirsty and I gave her a big long bottom water. Her stocks plumped back up and she’s good to go!!
That was a really good question! I should have specified that in my original post…
That was a really good question! I should have specified that in my original post…
@DivinePuka82 darn it! I don’t! I may have saved it tho so I will check my saved videos on YouTube and see if I can find it. So sorry…how exactly are you struggling with your ZZ? If you don’t mind me asking?
@PlantBeach omg, right?!?! I thought it was just me!!! But yes, the dust!!!! lol it’s really kinda of crazy!! They are like dust magnets!! One of the best invests I made was a pair of microfiber gloves that I put on and use as “dusting mits” for all my plants but I was never so happy to have them as when I was dusting off my ZZ the other day before I posted my side ways pictures lol I don’t know why that happens either! lol
@DivinePuka82 ok, so have you ever repotted a ZZ? If you haven’t yet, we’ll get you there!! So ZZ plants have these things called rhizomes that are part of their root systems. They can be a pretty decent size actually and they look like a potato!! What one needs to know sbout ZZs is that these potato looking things are like canteens that store water and nutrients for the ZZ which is what enables them to survive extremely long periods with no water!! I have attached some pictures and hopefully they will help! They’re pictures of those vertical lines I mentioned in my original post.
If I were you, I would hold off watering on your ZZ until you seen lines like these. When you start seeing vertical lines like this, the ZZ is saying ok, I’m ready for water!! When I get to that point with mine, I’ll bottom water and I let them sit in the water for 2 or 3 days until the vertical lines start to disappear. I want to give the ZZ enough time to plump back up (vertical lines disappear) and to refill their little potato canteens under the soil!!
Over watering is def one of the most common mistakes made with ZZ bc a lot of people don’t know about their little potato sacs. I was one of those people until I happened to catch the video I mentioned. That’s when everything changed for me and my ZZs and I haven’t lost one since!! Give it a try! If you have any additional questions or need clarification about anything else, please please reach out!! I absolutely do not mind and love sharing what I’ve learned through trial and error!
Does that help at all?!? I hope so…
If I were you, I would hold off watering on your ZZ until you seen lines like these. When you start seeing vertical lines like this, the ZZ is saying ok, I’m ready for water!! When I get to that point with mine, I’ll bottom water and I let them sit in the water for 2 or 3 days until the vertical lines start to disappear. I want to give the ZZ enough time to plump back up (vertical lines disappear) and to refill their little potato canteens under the soil!!
Over watering is def one of the most common mistakes made with ZZ bc a lot of people don’t know about their little potato sacs. I was one of those people until I happened to catch the video I mentioned. That’s when everything changed for me and my ZZs and I haven’t lost one since!! Give it a try! If you have any additional questions or need clarification about anything else, please please reach out!! I absolutely do not mind and love sharing what I’ve learned through trial and error!
Does that help at all?!? I hope so…
@DivinePuka82 oh good!! I’m so happy that helped!! If you have any questions or need anything else do not hesitate to reach out!! Good luck!!! I know you can do it!!! 👍🌱🫶🏻
@PioneerRutabaga ok ok cool im looking 👀 at my zz with a magnifying glass 🔍 right now thx for sharing
@PioneerRutabaga I just plastic wrap the soil turn it sideways, and rinse it now or let her sit dusty 😆. Its sooo tedious all the leaves, nooks and crannies. She's my favorite plant to hate on, but my first "big buy" a few years back.
@JungleZen68 lol the dust is real, isn’t it?!?! lol it’s awful!
I really like @PlantBeach ‘s idea of plastic wrapping it and then giving it a “bath”. Dusting each individual leaf is very tedious!! You said you have a Raven, right? My raven isnt a large as the one in the picture but those dark leaves really do show the dust! That would be an awesome first big buy tho! I totally get what ur saying tho about having a favorite to hate on!! Lol I have a couple actually lol it’s like hating one of your kids tho, lol…I feel bad saying it out loud…lol…
I really like @PlantBeach ‘s idea of plastic wrapping it and then giving it a “bath”. Dusting each individual leaf is very tedious!! You said you have a Raven, right? My raven isnt a large as the one in the picture but those dark leaves really do show the dust! That would be an awesome first big buy tho! I totally get what ur saying tho about having a favorite to hate on!! Lol I have a couple actually lol it’s like hating one of your kids tho, lol…I feel bad saying it out loud…lol…
@PioneerRutabaga yep, a Raven. My sister wanted one sooo bad so I just split it for her last month. It was much fuller before that! She took the split and repot nicely, loads of lil taters under the soil. She probably actually needed that split or a new pot all together! All squeaky clean, for once. 😆 yeah I just wrap the top of soil best I can, usually there's a "center hole" where the plant is but I try to be quick, and do it sideways so nothing runs into the plant.. sometimes I loose a bit of soil, but I like to keep my house pipes and garbage disposal on its toes.. I use warm water, not cold or hot. She is the only one I plastic like this, since she doesn't love water, but adores dust. I am not a crazy, excessive plastic user 😆
Oh @PlantBeach, I am….lol CRAZY PLASTIC USER!! Actually I like to use that press and seal stuff that Glad makes…unfortunately, the last two or three years, I’ve been fighting a spider mite infestation that kind of travels through my plant population. I’ll get it under control and then spring comes and boom!! Spider mite explosion!! On top of that! I recently discovered I have some thrips going on as well!!!! Smh…it SUCKS!! Very very frustrating!! I CAN NOT BELIEVE how quickly thrips cause damage!!! They’ve almost completely wiped out my Cool Beauty!! 😭 she’s down to like 2/3 leaves left!!! But I use the press and seal and then I rinse off the plants either in my sink or in my tub depending on how big the plant is…some of my alocasia are really large and I have to do them in my tub…plant pests are THE WORST!! That’s a whole nother topic tho…lol…but yeah, there’s always the little hole in the middle where the stems stick out. I’m not too worried about the soil getting wet per-say….its really just about keeping it in the pot, but lol your right about the garbage disposal lol and the water temp!! Im so glad it’s not just me!!
@useraf8c0be9 hey!! I had to look this one up but I did look it up and I got some info for you!! This should def help!! But from what I read ZZs are naturally slow growers that tend to put out new growth in spurts throughout the spring and summer. They like to be a little root bound and as long as it looks healthy, it doesn’t need to be repotted. Only repot if the roots start growing out of the drainage holes or piping up at the top of the pot, if the little potato canteens under the soil cause its pot to crack or buldge (I didn’t even know that could happen!!) or if the soil mix has become/smell stale or hydrophobic or repels water.
NOTED!