Know When To Repot ZZ Plant

Last Updated on March 29, 2022 by Guillermina

Want to know when to repot ZZ plant?

It can be challenging to know when the time is right to report your favorite ZZ plant. However, if you’re considering having more room for your plants, it’s time to review your garden and find a new place for your ZZ plant.

First of all, ZZ plants don’t like to be rootbound. They can grow large rhizomes that can occupy the whole pot. The larger the pot, the better it would be for your plant. When too many rhizomes are forced to grow in very little space, your ZZ plant can suffocate. It also makes it more prone to fungal development.

This issue makes it ideal to replant your ZZ plant every two years. The key is to plant them in larger pots than they previously lived in. Or you can divide the rhizomes and propagate them.

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Getting To Know More About The ZZ Plant Rhizome

Just like the aloe plant, ZZ plants have round rhizomes that can grow bigger month after month. ZZ rhizomes are ordinarily round, white, and develop simply under the dirt. They may look like bulbs or tubes, but they are part of the ZZ plant’s roots. They store the water and supplements that ZZ needs. The rhizomes under your ZZ spread out underground and need space to develop as the plant ages. As a matter of fact, when new development shows up as a new upshoot stem, it means more rhizomes are developing underneath the soil.

Whenever such a large number of rhizomes are available in a holder, your ZZ Plant will be more helpless to root decay. These rhizomes need space to fan out. When there’s enough ventilation in the soul, the excess water can dry out quickly, therefore preventing your water-storing rhizomes from rotting away.

Things You Need To Know About Re-potting ZZ Plants

It requires some time investment.

Literally, replanting your ZZ plant may take up the entire morning. So better free up your day considering that you still need to tidy up your harden hereafter. To provide you with a reference, it takes at least 3 hours to uproot and divide a fully matured ZZ plant.

This includes your time watching YouTube videos and reading blogs for reference, preparing your equipment, gathering your plants, uprooting them, and finally dividing the rhizomes.

It takes muscles and you will need assistance if you have too many ZZ plants.

Expect yourself to be caught up with a lot of soil so if you need anything from your home, you must have someone to call. Also, it makes things easier to have an extra hand to help you pull the rhizomes apart.

You will likewise require assistance when holding the stems set up during the re-potting with handling. The isolated tall stems will generally fall all over the spot as you are attempting to add soil to the pot!

You will get more tied up with dividing rhizomes than re-potting.

It requires a lot of effort to divide big rhizomes. Since ZZ plants are naturally sturdy, you can’t expect them to easily break apart to moment you separate them. With the ZZ plant, it takes 2 to tango.

It is simpler manually

As you delicately relax the dirt and roots, the division will happen suddenly and normally, except if your plant is truly pot bound and the dirt is very dry.

Top Signs That Signal Your ZZ Plant Needs Repotting?

There are many ways to tell whether re-potting your ZZ plant requires repotting.

The leaves are turning yellow and brown, which may mean that the plant is suffering from nutrient deficiency.
The growth of the plant is halted albeit with frequent care and fertilizing.
Roots have become visible from the drainage hole.
Rootballs are starting to spiral and form a complex cluster on top of the pot.
The plant leaves are starting to curl and droop.
The plant is losing colors and is becoming dull and pale.
Your old pot starts breaking down and roots are escaping side by side.
The soil doesn’t hold up water anymore.
The pot is showing no signs of soil left, especially since the roots have mostly covered the top.

If you see these signs, make sure that you check on your plant right away. You may need to buy a new pot soon and replant your ZZ plant. Otherwise, it will slowly perish.

FAQs

Do ZZ Plants Like Big Pots?

Since these plants occupy such a lot of space underground, they truly do have to have sufficient space in their pots. That means ZZ plants love bigger pots to help them accommodate their rhizomes. The best pots for ZZ plants are terracotta pots since it is porous. It allows water to dry out quickly and helps with ventilation.

How To Replant ZZ Plant

To replant your ZZ plant, start with taking the plant out of the old pot. Sometimes, you may need to break the old pot just to get the whole plant out without destroying the stems. When it’s finally out, you can repot it in a larger pot or divide the rhizomes first so you can have many divisions of ZZ plants. You can sell the others if you like, or you can use them to decorate your home.

Is Repotting ZZ Plant Easy?

We can’t easily say that repotting the ZZ plant is easy. There are challenges along the way such as when your ZZ plant is experiencing root decay, or when it’s being eaten away by pests. IN this case, you need to ensure that the plant is disinfected before moving it into a new pot.

How Big Are ZZ Plant Roots?

The size of the ZZ plant roots depends on their age. Normally, you don’t need to re-pot a young ZZ plant because it still has small roots unless you see some signs of an unhappy plant. Then you may need to repot. However, if the problem is not about the roots, you can leave your plants in their old pot before transferring them into a new one.