Best Soil For ZZ Plant: Everything You Need To Know

With its broad, dark green leaves, the ZZ plant is a popular houseplant for homes and offices. It can tolerate neglect and drought and can adapt to low-light conditions.

The plant boasts of waxy, smooth leaves that brighten rooms and reflect sunlight. It grows to the height of up to three feet when nurtured indoors.

You can grow the ZZ plant for its air purification qualities. The plant effectively eliminates toxins such as benzene, toluene, and xylene from the air. Here’s everything you should know when choosing the most suitable soil for propagating the ZZ plant.

Read more: ZZ Plants’ Toxicity to Cats

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Choosing The Right Soil For ZZ Plant

You won’t spend much on getting a potting mix since ZZ plants are tough enough to thrive in different soil types.

You can use potting soils purchased from the store, provided they have better drainage. Mixing one-part of the soil with perlite or cactus soil to three parts of potting soil will help its fertility.

The good thing about ZZ plants is that they aren’t picky about the growing medium used to propagate them.

They are resilient and adaptable to different growing conditions. The houseplants can thrive in a dark corner or a location with bright indirect light. You can also ignore them for weeks, and they will still survive.

The Right Potting Mix for ZZ Plants

Mix the regular potting soil with the cactus mix to give your ZZ plant a well-drained ground for thriving. Cactus mix is highly suitable for growing ZZ because it comes with more perlite, sand, and limestone blended into it. These additions make it a fast-draining and porous substrate.

When you mix in perlite or cactus soil in your regular potting soil, you’ll end up with a well-drained substrate.

Besides soaking up water quickly, the substrate will have the adequate structure needed by your ZZ plant to develop roots and grow to maturity. Visit your local garden centers to get perlite or cactus soil.

Making your potting soil gives you greater control when growing ZZ plants. You get to cater to your houseplants’ nutrient needs cost-effectively. The results are also more consistent and stable, unlike buying a potting mix.

Can I Use Cactus Soil for ZZ Plant?

Cactus potting soil is one of the readily available potting mixes you can ever find in garden centers and nurseries.

It lays a good foundation for ZZ roots than regular soil while keeping stems and roots from soaking in moisture. The soil has exceptional drainage and dries out quickly after watering. Use it to prevent rot in your ZZ plants.

Do ZZ Plants Like Acidic Soil?

ZZ plants thrive in fast-draining soils with a pH ranging from 6 to 7. Acidic soils help them access all the right nutrients.

If your potting mix isn’t acidic, you can add an inch of peat to the surface. You can also water the plant several times using a solution with two tablespoons of vinegar dissolved in a gallon of water.

What Kind of Soil Do ZZ Plants Need?

Use a well-drained growing medium or potting mix comprising one part succulent soil mix and three parts all-purpose mix.

The fast-draining soil allows water to drain moderately from the pot without puddling or pooling. Your ZZ plant will have enough time to absorb all the moisture it needs. Its rhizomes won’t be susceptible to rotting.

ZZ Plant’s Rhizome Structures

ZZ plants have highly adaptable rhizome structures that make them an ideal option for houseplants. When you water them, their roots take in a lot of water and store it deep inside the rhizomes.

The plant relies on the rhizomes as the source of water during drier times. Water stored in the rhizomes can help the plant survive for several weeks.

One downside of the rhizomes is that they are sensitive to cold, soggy, or damp soil. Waterlogged soils make the rhizomes susceptible to rooting. With rot on the roots, the ZZ plant will struggle to grow and may eventually die.

How Do I Repot My ZZ Plant?

Use a pot of the same size as the one you bought your ZZ plant in when repotting the plant. Remember to prune the roots to prevent root-bound. ZZ plants grow slowly and can adapt to both large and small pots.

However, the right size of the pot will allow their roots to develop well and give rise to new shoots.

When Should I Repot My ZZ Plant?

Repot your ZZ plants every 12 to 18 months while monitoring how they’re growing. Your plant won’t develop healthy shoots when you keep it in the same pot for several years. That’s because its roots require soil replenishment for them to thrive.

Consider repotting the houseplant in early spring (before the growing season starts).

Should I repot ZZ Plant?

Since ZZ plants derive most of their essential nutrients from the potting soil, repotting helps boost their growth.

With time, the potting mix will have less fertile soil and hinder the plants’ ability to grow shoots. Though ZZ plants can survive in severe conditions, they may start dying when you fail to report them for a very long time.

Propagating a ZZ Plant

Since ZZ plants are easy to maintain, they are ideal for beginners getting started with houseplants. They can also adapt to any potting soil. For the best results, use well-drained potting soil.

Applying a balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer (in the ratio of 20-20-20 every month when watering) will also boost its growth.

Choose a location with low to bright indirect sunlight to plant your ZZ. It would help if you also watered it when the potting soil is fully dry.

You can propagate the plant from large, thick rhizomes, which look like potatoes. These rhizomes have a high-water retention capacity, thus allowing the houseplant to thrive during drought.

Though the plant can still survive when you skip watering, it’s advisable not to deny it water for a long time.

ZZ plants are highly resistant to insects and diseases. Pruning them when the branches start intruding your space is a good idea. The ZZ plant starts flowering in the mid-summer up to early autumn. Its flowers tend to be small and less attractive.

Photo by Flor Nájera on Unsplash