zz Plant Not Growing – House Plant Journal

zz Plant Not Growing

Plant: ZZ plant

How long have you had the plant? 6 months to 1 year

Concerns:

Brought this plant home in February and it had 8-9 new shoots. My kittens love to sit in the pot and chew on the leaves. You can see holes and bent stems. No new growth since April (kittens joined in June). Thinking about repotting but I’ve heard this plant likes to be a little root bound. Wondering if repotting would mean more growth?  Get rid of bent stems? (It’s September now)

Light Situation: the plant only receives indirect light here

How do you determine WHEN to water: I wait for the soil to become completely dry

Describe HOW you water: I completely soak the soil and let excess water drain away

What fertilizer do you use? I use Happy happy houseplant, every other or every third watering

When was the last time you repotted? I haven’t repotted.

Darryl

Thanks for the photos and info!

Environment:
This window and position looks adequate in terms of light.

Effort:
You are watering correctly in terms of both the WHEN (when completely dry) and the HOW (fully soak, let excess drain away).  The fertilizer you’re using and frequency is fine.

Expectations:
I think your zz plant looks fine.  The bent stems and chew marks aren’t of any major concern – I wouldn’t cut them off but you can if they bother you.

ZZ plants aren’t really fast growers.  A plant this size probably won’t put up more than 2 or 3 new stems per year – and they tend to occur in spurts rather than steadily throughout the year.  So perhaps that spurt just hasn’t happened yet.

There’s no need to repot until the plant is very root bound and the rhizomes are bulging out of the side of the pot.  The saying “likes to be rootbound” doesn’t mean the plant will be unhappy if repotted, it just means the plant tends to keep growing even if rootbound to some degree.

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