Do you want to learn how to encourage more shoots in your ZZ plant naturally? Here we’ve got the best tricks and tips—don’t miss it!
Are you wondering how soon your elegant ZZ plant will give out new shoots and look fuller? We all love its large glossy green leaves that fan out like feathers on their stems! Well, this guide will tell you how to encourage more shoots in your ZZ plant naturally to make it look bushier and bigger.
How to Encourage More Shoots in Your ZZ Plant Naturally?
Remember, you cannot force new growth from your plant by giving it more than the things it requires because it would rather alter the outcome negatively. So, be patient and let your plant absorb and utilize all the good things to thrive.
Listed below are the best things you can do to promote new shoots healthily. Have a look.
1. Placement In A Bright Spot
If you don’t want a lopsided ZZ plant in your home then place it in a bright spot with ample amount of indirect light or filtered light Additionally, always protect it from the direct sunlight. These are the only things you need to keep in mind when it comes to providing light to a ZZ plant.
Pro Tip: Keep rotating the plant occasionally for uniform growth. Use LED grow lights in the winter season because the days are short.
2. Upskill Watering Times
Remember, your ZZ is a succulent (stores water). Never overdo watering if you want to keep it thriving. Because overwatering won’t help it grow and rather leads to slower growth and root rotting in extreme cases.
Try this super easy hack—stick your fingers in the soil and if it is dry below 2 inches deep then you can pour in water or else don’t. You can also give it a dry-out time in between watering schedules.
Here is one more trick to prevent root rotting issues in this guide. Read along!
3. Prune Off Dead/ Dried Leaves and Stems
Do this whenever you see a dry stem or leaf on your ZZ plant!! It helps the plant to use its nutrients and energy to produce new growth and development once the unwanted dead parts are gone. Pruning comes with another bonus of keeping away pests like spider mites that seek shelter in dried stems and leaves.
Note: Always use sterilized pruning shears to prevent infections from spreading to healthy parts of the plant.
4. Use The Best Fertilizer
The best fertilizers are organic compost and homemade liquid fertilizers like banana peel water or diluted fish emulsion. Besides, you can try out the store-bought ones as well with a ratio of 10:10:10 NPK and use them accordingly. Feeding once a month is sufficient for your ZZ plant to show off new shoots.
5. Pay Attention To Indoor Temperature
Unlike its desert cousins, the ZZ plant is a warm and humid lover and enjoys temperatures around 60-85 F (15-30 C). If it gets too hot and arid, just move it to a spot with afternoon shade and shelter to maintain the humidity.
Along with this, avoid places like drafty windows, extreme cold, and dryness exposure like AC or radiators. These precautions will protect your houseplant and give its sweet time to flourish.
6. Don’t Ignore Repotting
It’s simple, if you want your plant to grow more shoots then for obvious reasons it will always need a bigger space as it grows in time. So, as you observe and admire your plant growing and pushing out new growth take your time to see if the container needs fixing!
Most of the time repotting is necessary once a year because this goes for a new home with a new growing medium packed with all the nutrients and minerals for further growing.
7. The Honey Hack!
Surprisingly, honey is a natural fertilizer and is used especially as a rooting hormone, and pest repellant secretly by many gardeners! In this case, you can use this honey water recipe—Mix 1-2 tablespoons of honey in 2 liters of water and use this as a liquid fertilizer once a month and see the magic happen.
8. Avoid Disturbances
While focusing on decorating our indoor space we often place houseplants in busy locations like doorways, staircases, or corridors. In this, we often forget that some of them suffer from continuous movement like bumping into the branches leaving the plant shaking for sometime and such disturbances.
So, avoid such settings for your ZZ plants because they prefer to be in a calm and stable environment.
9. Build The Habit of Pest Monitoring
Houseplants are much more prone to pests and diseases than outdoor ones because of the warm and humid indoor conditions. Besides, ZZ plants also seem to be quite prone to fungal infections caused due to overwatering and others like mildew, spider mites, and gnats.
Make a habit of checking your green companions regularly like on weekends or whenever you are free, at least once a week. At least if you can detect anything in its early stage then the quicker you can treat it.
Did you know that some gardeners bury coins in the soil to grow ZZ plants? Check out this guide to know what this secret hack is about!
Hopefully, you now have all the tricks and tips for your ZZ plants. Just remember everything and use it accordingly. Let us know how it works out!
