If a bushy ZZ plant with thick stems and lush green foliage is at the top of your bucket list, this article has the best tricks to do that!
If you have been into gardening for even a little while, you would know how fantastic, hardy, and low-maintenance the ZZ plant is. In fact, this is the perfect plant for even the most forgetful plant owners, as they can survive in a wide range of environmental conditions. However, that might not guarantee you a fuller and fast-growing plant unless you follow these tricks!
How Quickly Do ZZ Plants Grow?
ZZ plants grow at a leisurely pace, generally gaining about 6 to 12 inches each year, influenced heavily by their care and the environment they’re in. In ideal indoor conditions, they might reach heights between 2 and 3 feet, but achieving this full size can take quite a few years. You’ll notice they sprout up more during the warm months and nearly come to a halt when it gets cooler.
Tricks to Grow a ZZ Plant Faster and Bushier
1. Encourage More Pups in the Same Pot
When your ZZ plant starts sprouting additional pups, it’s like the plant is naturally cloning itself right there in your pot. These new shoots, or pups, each grow their own set of stems and leaves, but they’re all connected to the same robust root system as the mother plant. This shared system allows them to grow together without needing more space, essentially making your plant appear bushier.
2. Provide Enough Sunlight
While ZZ plants don’t need a lot of sunlight to survive, they need some amount of bright, indirect sunlight to grow faster and busier. The best bet is to place it in an east-facing spot that can receive a few hours of morning sunlight and keeps the afternoon sun away. You can also shift it to your balcony or patio in the morning hours to satiate its sunlight needs.
3. Fertilize it in the Growing Season
Truly living up to the definition of “low-maintenance,” ZZ plants do not need any extra nutrients apart from inside the soil they are planted in. However, to get fuller growth, you must supplement some nutrients, especially during the growing season.
In that case, your planting would not need any additional feeding for the first 3 to 6 months. As these nutrients get used up, start feeding your plant with a well-balanced liquid fertilizer diluted to half or according to the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure healthy, bushy growth. While underfeeding would not cause any significant symptoms other than little to no growth, overfeeding can cause nutrition burns on the ZZ leaves. In that case, first, flush the soil out thoroughly with plain water to remove the extra fertilizer and then allow it to dry out properly.
The best time to feed your ZZ plant is during the growing season, between late spring and early summer, as this is the time when you will have the most negligible temperature fluctuations.
4. Keep it Little Root Bound
When you keep your ZZ plant slightly root-bound, it can actually boost its growth and make it look fuller. As the roots fill the pot, they tell the plant to step up its leaf production, which results in thicker, greener foliage. This happens because the plant is making the most out of the limited space it has, driving it to grow more robustly as a natural response to the constrained environment.
However, there’s a fine line to watch. While a snug pot can encourage growth, squeezing it into too small a space can block the plant’s access to essential water and nutrients, stunting its development.
5. Pruning the Plant Strategically
When you trim a ZZ plant, you’re helping to manage the growth hormones, particularly auxins, which naturally concentrate in the tips of the stems and guide growth outward and upward. By pruning the longer, more overgrown stems, you effectively decrease the auxin levels in those areas. This reduction encourages the plant to sprout new shoots lower down on the stem or at the base, leading to a fuller and more evenly grown plant.
Plus, it helps control the shape and size of your ZZ plant and enhances light penetration and air flow around it, which supports more vigorous and healthy growth.
