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ZZ: The Easiest Houseplant in the World
by Chris Winslow
“What is the easiest house plant to grow? I am often asked this. The one
I keep coming back to is the strangely named ZZ plant. This is a trooper
of a houseplant.
It has been known to survive in the most inhospitable of environments…
including in some cases dorm rooms and apartments of central
Texas’s university students.
We all know that plants need light and water to survive. ZZ does fine with
just a smattering of light and infrequent watering.
It is known more formally as Zamioculcas zamiifolia. It’s a tropical perennial
in the Aroid family, native to eastern Africa, from Kenya down to South
Africa. Success with the ZZ plant starts with a shaded location indoors
or on a patio, spring through fall.
Any containerized potting soil will work as long as it has good drainage.
If you feed it once a month with an organic water-soluble fertilizer, it will
respond by continuing to produce beautiful, smooth, dark green shiny leaves.
Zamioculcas zamiifolia... the great survivor
ZZ is popular in the Far East and is supposed to bring good luck to its
care-givers. You can grow more plants easily if you insert leaves in peat-
moss or compost.
But even ZZ has its limits. Bring it indoors when temperatures drop into
the 50’s, or this tough plant will perish.
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Next Sunday's Lecture: 2 pm: Kurt Hudgeons returns again to present
‘The Joy of Gardening with the Kids,’ Five projects that’ll get the kids to turn
off Sponge Bob, and join you out in the garden.
Visit the website at
www.itsaboutthyme.com Visit the
nursery at 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748 Tel. 512 280 1192
