ZZ Plant Propagation

This post on ZZ Plant Propagation was written for the http://mrbrownthumb.blogspot.com urban gardening blog.

Early in the growing season when the houseplants made the yearly migration to vacation outdoors my ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) was damaged in the process. Instead of getting upset at one of my favorite succulent plants being marred I decided to take the opportunity to propagate this plant.

I've blogged before about how easy it is to propagate succulents from cuttings and especially single leafs. It is a great way to get new plants and since prices for ZZ Plants around here are pretty expensive I figured maybe I could make a few extra plants to share with friends and family that are always taking plants when they visit.

The stem of the ZZ Plant that was damaged was relatively short so I plucked the leaves off of that stem and let them sit around for a couple of hours to let the cut ends callous over.


While I was waiting for the leaves to dry I got my potting soil ready. The potting soil I had on hand was very heavy so I amended the soil with some perlite, the white specks, to make it fluffier and allow for better drainage. I took an empty plastic container from the deli and poked a few holes in the bottom. Unlike with other plant cutting you take you don't want to cover your ZZ Plant leaf cuttings because they are succulents and too much water will cause them to rot and die.

The leaves were inserted standing straight up in the soil. I'm keeping them in a bright and protected area of the front stoop where they will get some sunlight but not direct sunlight the leaves could dry out and die completely in the summer heat. The leaf cuttings are also protected from getting any to assure I don't lose them because the soil was kept too soggy and the tips of the leafs begin to rot.



The leaves were inserted into the potting mix standing straight up. I'm keeping them in a bright and protected area of the front stoop where they will get some sunlight but not direct sunlight- the leaves could dry out and die completely in the summer heat. The leaf cuttings are also protected from getting any to assure I don't lose them because the soil was kept too soggy and the tips of the leafs begin to rot.

If you've looked around the archives of this gardening blog you may have come across similar entries: Plant Propagation: Succulents by Leaf Cuttings being one and Echeveria 'Black Prince' Propagation is another. Both of them show how you can make more plants from the leafs of a succulent plants like the ZZ Plant.

Looking for a post on caring for your ZZ Plant? Growing info can be found in the post ZZ Plant: Easy Low Light Houseplant

MrSubjunctive has a post on the ZZ Plant too and growing them from leafs. It looks like from his experience the leafs take several months to propagate.