One plant app says this ZZ is underwatered and not enough...
4
Neither! 😜 Trust only your own hands and what they tell you. What does the soil feel like right before watering? If it's damp, don't water yet until the soil has sufficiently dried out. If you've been watering her before the soil has had a chance to dry out, then most likely she's been overwatered. If you've been forgetting to water until her soil is super dried out, then she's more likely experiencing underwatering.
@stephonicle I have had this plant for three weeks and I haven’t watered it and sticking a bamboo skewer into the pot the soil at the bottom is still damp.
@HendAZ01 If it's still damp and it's been 3 weeks there might be some root rot happening. ZZ plants have rhizomes that look like little new potatoes that store water. I would remove it from the soil and check for yellow, mushy and smelly roots. If there are any, remove them with sterilized scissors. Spray the scissors down with rubbing alcohol and dry them off so as to not spread bacteria. Spray the remaining roots with hydrogen peroxide and replant in some succulent soil mixed with chunky substrate like perlite or orchid bark. If there is root rot you wouldn't want to reuse the soil it was in. If there isn't any root rot bonus you caught it in time! The soil might have just been holding onto too much water not allowing the roots enough oxygen to breathe. In that case all you need to do is change the soil adding more chunkier amendments so the water drains easier.
@HendAZ01 you received great advice.
It's good at a minimum to have some orchid bark (see photo for exact one) and peroxide on hand.
Remove the plant from soil, inspect the roots and remove anything mushy.
Spray roots with peroxide.
Add the orchid bark to fresh soil for a chunkier soil mix.
There should only be about 1-2" of pot space between the rootball. If the pot is too big, decrease the pot size before repotting.
It's good at a minimum to have some orchid bark (see photo for exact one) and peroxide on hand.
Remove the plant from soil, inspect the roots and remove anything mushy.
Spray roots with peroxide.
Add the orchid bark to fresh soil for a chunkier soil mix.
There should only be about 1-2" of pot space between the rootball. If the pot is too big, decrease the pot size before repotting.
