Zamioculcas Zamiifolia cutting: Any hope? - Ask Extension
Hello! On March 4, I took a cutting from my healthy Zamioculcas Zamiifolia plant and stuck it in water. After about 3.5 months, the rhizomes seemed ...
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Zamioculcas Zamiifolia cutting: Any hope? #878835
Asked July 26, 2024, 7:56 AM EDT
Hello! On March 4, I took a cutting from my healthy Zamioculcas Zamiifolia plant and stuck it in water. After about 3.5 months, the rhizomes seemed to be forming well, so I put the cutting in a pot with a tropical potting soil. The leaves have turned yellow and above the soil, the plant looks very unhappy. But below the soil, I see some nice rhizomes and roots.
Can this plant be saved and, if so, how do I (with your help!) perform this miracle? Thank you.
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
Rooting in water might not be advisable since it could encourage rot to enter the rhizome/tuber; rooting in potting soil would be preferable for the future, and it's hard to tell from the photos if this cutting will pull through, though since ZZ plants do just about everything very slowly, it might take more time to determine if it will produce a new growth point.
We found a few Extension web pages discussing propagation of ZZ plant that might be helpful for future attempts:
Miri
We found a few Extension web pages discussing propagation of ZZ plant that might be helpful for future attempts:
- University of Florida -- geared towards greenhouse commercial propagation, but you may be able to glean some tips from the notes
- Michigan State University -- this is a nursery industry magazine article back from 2007 and is a little technical, but still may include a few results from propagation experiments that are helpful
- Iowa State University: How to Propagate Houseplants by Cuttings -- not ZZ-specific, but does include tips for each propagation technique that it lists for several common houseplants, including ZZ
- University of Connecticut
Miri
