How To Propagate ZZ Plant

ZZ plant is a rare foliage plant with underground tubers and a popular indoor large-scale bonsai plant. Next, I will introduce three propagation methods of ZZ plants by cutting, division and seed.

When To Propagate ZZ Plant

ZZ plant is most suitable for propagation in spring and autumn every year. The temperature in these two seasons is appropriate and the cutting success rate is the highest. ZZ plant can usually use stems and leaves as cuttings for cutting. Whether it is stem cutting or leaf cutting, it is necessary to cut the cuttings with strong growth, prepare the hydroponic flask, and insert the plant cuttings into the hydroponic flask. Add water over the base of cuttings, place it in a cool and ventilated place, and prepare moist and loose soil for transplanting in a basin after zz plant cuttings take root. (Read more about ZZ Plant.)

ZZ Plant Propagation by Stem Cuttings 

Propagate in water

When we intercept ZZ plant stem cuttings, the blade must be sharp, and try to cut as soon as possible to make the wound flat. Of course, if ZZ plant stem cuttings are not flat, we can cut them flat later. After intercepting the branches, we don't directly water culture, but it is recommended to air them first to make the wound cortex slightly curly. We can use tap water directly for hydroponic ZZ plant stem cuttings, but we should hold it out in advance for one night to allow natural settlement and recovery. We can use it the next day. Of course, we can add a little rooting powder to take root faster, or we can find several willow branches to soak in water for hydroponic culture. Then we can start hydroponics. We don't directly insert ZZ plant stem cuttings into the water. We can let the section contact with the water first, and then insert it into the water a week later. Don't be too deep, just insert it a few centimeters deep, which is conducive to the respiration of ZZ plant stem cuttings, because the insertion is too deep, because the acid produced by anaerobic respiration will lead to the decay of the section.
ZZ plant stem cuttings propagated in water should change water frequently in the early stage and less after rooting. The standard of frequent water change is to change water when you see that the water becomes turbid, because during hydroponic culture, some substances will be discharged from the cut-off, which will affect the water quality and the oxygen in the competitive water. Changing water is conducive to breathing.
Before rooting, fertilization is not recommended for ZZ plant stem cuttings, because there are many metal ions in the water after fertilization. Due to the effect of cell osmotic pressure, the water in the money tree will flow out. Therefore, stem cuttings propagated in water should not be fertilized. After rooting, you can supplement some nutrient solution to make ZZ plant turn green slowly.

Propagate in soil

If zz plant propagation by stem cuttings is adopted, we can use a single leaflet, a section of blade shaft plus 2 blades or a single section of blade shaft. In terms of rooting effect, in the coming year, the cuttings with leaves on the leaf axis have fast rooting speed, high germination in the north and easy to open into larger tubers. We can put a single stem cuttings on the mixed substrate mixed with river sand and vermiculite. After 10 ~ 14 days, a small spherical stem with roots can be formed at the leaf base. After 2 ~ 3 months of cultivation, it can grow into small plants, but the seedling rate is not high in general.
If we use the leaf axis or leaves with leaf axis as cuttings, the matrix can be prepared by mixing ordinary fine sand or peat soil, perlite and river sand in the ratio of 3:1:1. The depth of cuttings into the soil is 1 / 3 ~ 1 / 2 of the ear length. Only leaves are left outside the matrix. After spraying water, they are placed in the shade to maintain the ambient temperature of 25 ℃ ~ 27 ℃, depending on the dry and wet degree of the matrix, Spray 1~2 times on leaf surface every day to maintain a slightly moist state of the substrate. It must not be too wet. Otherwise, it will cause Stem Cuttings rot and lead to cuttage failure. When cuttings form a certain root system, the middle of the root gradually expands to form small spherical stems, and the tubers gradually increase. After some young stem cuttings are put into the pot, they will wither and die due to high temperature or poor water management, but the tubers can survive, and the old mature leaves and cuttings with total petioles can also maintain green and vitality. A few tubers can sprout and grow new leaves in the same year, but the growth potential is weak and slow. The tubers will grow strong new buds and grow normally the next year.

ZZ Plant Propagation by Leaf Cuttings 

Propagate in water

First of all, we should prepare a disposable small cup with incoming water inserted into ZZ plant leaf cuttings. It's better to make the mouth smaller and the cup body shorter. If the cup body is too high, you can cut off a section, so that ZZ plant leaf cuttings can't be easily poured inside, which is conducive to growth.
We can cut a leaf with a small petiole from a pot of ZZ plant with good growth for leaf insertion. If possible, we can prepare rooting water. First soak the cuttings for 3-5 seconds to root and survive faster. If there is no rooting water, soak it in the water first, then put it in a cool place to dry for half a day, and then put it in a cup. We add a certain amount of water to the plant in the cup. The amount of water is about to submerge the bottom of ZZ plant leaf cuttings. Don't be too deep, otherwise it is easy to rot and die.
Then we want ZZ plant leaf cuttings to grow quietly. After about a month, you can see that ZZ plant petioles grow roots, and then they can be transplanted into the soil for cultivation, or continue hydroponics, but grow slowly.

Propagate in soil

When ZZ plant propagation by leaf cuttings, we need to select a relatively robust ZZ plant. We can pick some strong leaves and pick them together with the petiole. We can use carbendazim to disinfect the picked leaves to prevent bacterial infection. Then we can use rooting powder mixed with water to soak for half an hour.
For the matrix of ZZ plant propagation by leaf cuttings, we can choose to use river sand or self configured nutrient soil. Cutting with river sand needs to be transplanted after Cutting Rooting, so we can directly use nutrient soil for cutting propagation. We can use garden soil + rotten leaf soil + peat soil + river sand and mix them evenly!
We should put the prepared nutrient soil into the flower pot and water it through. Then use chopsticks to make several holes in the flowerpot, insert one end of the treated leaf cuttings into the hole, properly bury about 1cm of leaves, and then gently press the surrounding soil with hands to fit the cuttings, and then put them in a cool place for propagation.

ZZ Plant Propagation by Division

When the outdoor air temperature is above 18 ℃, we can conduct ZZ plant propagation by division. We can take the big money tree plants out of the pot, shake off most of the old soil, break off from the weak combination of tubers, apply sulfur powder or plant ash on the wound, and plant them in another pot. We should pay attention not to bury the ZZ plant too deep when planting. Just bury the top of its tuber 1.5 ~ 2cm under the soil.
In addition, according to the characteristics of ZZ plant tubers with latent buds, we can cut a huge single tuber into small pieces with 2 ~ 3 latent buds, bury it in slightly wet fine sand after the wound is dry, and plant it in pots after the cut small pieces grow into independent plants.

ZZ Plant Propagation from Seed

For ZZ plant propagation from seed, first we need to obtain the seeds of ZZ plant. ZZ plant bears fruit every year from June to October. After the fruit of ZZ plant is mature, we can take the seeds of money tree from the mature fruit.
We can sow zz plant seeds in autumn, sprinkle 3 ~ 5 seeds on the soil, then cover a layer of fine soil of about 1.5cm, and also cover a layer of plastic cloth, spray an appropriate amount of water, control the ambient temperature at about 20 ~ 25 ℃, put them in the astigmatism, wait for the seeds to take root and germinate, and then transplant.

Post ZZ Plants Propagation Care

• Light

ZZ plants does not need long-term illumination, but only needs scattered light for 3 to 5 hours every day. When the summer sun is too strong, we should also put ZZ plants in an environment with 50% - 70% shading, but it should not be too dark, otherwise it will lead to slender new tender leaves, yellow and absent leaf color and sparse leaflet spacing, which will affect the compactness and beauty of ZZ plants.

• Temperature

The suitable temperature for the growth of ZZ plants is 20 ~ 32 ℃. Whether potted or ground planting, it is required that the average annual temperature change is small. The productive cultivation is best carried out in the greenhouse with controllable temperature. Every summer, when the temperature is above 35 ℃, the growth of ZZ plants is poor. We should cover black net to block light and spray water to the surrounding environment to cool down, so as to create a suitable and dry environment with appropriate space temperature.

• Soil

ZZ plants prefers loose and fertile soil. The cultivation soil of ZZ plants is mostly mixed with peat, coarse sand or washed cinder and a small amount of garden soil. We can adjust the pH value of ZZ plants soil to 6-6.5, in a slightly acidic state.

• Watering

ZZ plant prefers a warm climate. It grows fast in spring and autumn and has a high demand for water. Therefore, it should be watered frequently. Generally, water should be poured every 7 days to keep the soil slightly dry, but with a little humidity. If the climate is dry, we can also spray water around ZZ plant to improve the air humidity, which is conducive to plant growth.

• Fertilizing

When planting ZZ plants, we need to apply enough base fertilizer. Usually, we can choose retting cake fertilizer, which should be applied at the bottom of the basin. Fertilizer should be applied once a month during the growth period. Urea and potassium dihydrogen phosphate are mostly used as fertilizers.

Read More:
How To Save ZZ Plant From Root Rot
When To Water Your ZZ Plant
ZZ Plant Care Guide: How to Care for ZZ Plant
Zanzibar Gem (ZZ Plant) Profile