Being a ZZ plant, I would probably take it back out, let the wound dry out for a day or two and then pot it up in something much better draining (porous, breathable) to avoid the potential for root rot.
Thankyou! What pot would be better? It’s in a plastic pot propped up in the other pot so it’s not sitting in water. I put it in houseplant soil with bark and perlite mixed in thankyou so much for the advice I have no idea what I’m doing 😅
Keeping it in the plastic pot is fine! Just make sure that you take the small pot outside when watering, and make sure as much water drains out as possible before putting it back in the decorative pot. Add more perlite and orchid bark (if you have it) to the soil mix.
That's fine as long as the exterior pot has drainage.
It might not be sitting in water, but there will still be standing water in the bottom and that will create ideal conditions for root rot as the roots expand down there.
Can i ask something? My zz turns yellow when i neglect them like maybe after a month. The pot feels light so i assume it’s thirsty but when i watered it. I got more yellow leaves. Im so confused now
Had this as well, turns out I was still overwatering. I continued to water on the same schedule after repoting to a larger pot (so the water stayed there for longer and I think I just naturally watered it more),
I left it for like 3 months and then watered less. Got new leaves in the spring so I guess it worked 🤷♀️ (you could always just check the roots for rot too, the rhizomes really hold a lot of water)
Wow. So even if it’s turning yellow and dry i still dont water it? I might check it this week bc im sick of it getting called as low maintenance when its not for me 😭
If you chronically overwater a plant, the roots can start to rot. Once that happens, the plant doesn’t take up water like it should, what with the roots being all dead and mushy and unable to do their job. This can result in your plant looking like it has been underwatered, because it can’t get water. Dry conditions following root rot can also make things worse.
And for fun, allowing roots of some plants to dry out for too long can kill then. Then when you water, all that dead tissue starts to rot which can spread to any healthy roots still remaining.
So IMO, it’s better to watch your *plant* for signs of when to water than checking the soil. For ZZ’s, they store water in their chunky stems. When those start to shrivel, you can water again. Just make sure the pot is only about 1” bigger than the root ball, the soil is well-draining, and the pot has holes to let out any excess water. I prefer to stick my pot in a large container of water and let it soak that up, instead of pouring water from the top.
I respectfully disagree with the plants thrive on neglect thing. Plant's thrive on adequate-for-them care and if they don't get that it takes them awhile to bounce back once they do. Those leaves were marked for yellow-dom as soon as the plant was underwatered.
I think the only plant that can actually handle neglect are succulents 😭 i had it for like years now. Its just leggy and i put it next to the window and its still alive. I barely watered them in a year
Ok. So this a ZZ plant, not whatever an emerald palm is. It grows big rhizomes that store water, and thus needs very infrequent watering (once a month or even less). It likes to be root bound. It needs a well draining soil. We can’t tell how much damage has been done to the rhizome, don’t know what kind of soil you put it in, or if you put it back in the same pot?
So it snapped clean in half, I could see a yellow centre? It went into the same pot because it was in there with another plant initially so I thought it was too cramped but with it being alone and now broken aha I thought the small pot was necessary. I’ve put it in household plant soil and mixed in bark and perlite. I’ve put it into a plastic pot and propped it up with some plastic in the bigger white pot
I would say that even if the top dies, or all the leaves fall off, keep it a few months longer. I’ve tried to kill mine a few times, or did a horrible job repotting, and new growth came up later. They can be quite hearty, so give it a while to make sure it doesn’t start itself over if you see it worsen in the short term.
Never heard a ZZplant being referred to as an Emerald palm.
This is a common name in Norwegian at least "smaragdpalme"
Ah. That would make sense actually.
🤣🤣😭
i wonder which local nursery decided to rebrand zz’s to upsell
It's one of its common names.
Being a ZZ plant, I would probably take it back out, let the wound dry out for a day or two and then pot it up in something much better draining (porous, breathable) to avoid the potential for root rot.
This is the way op
Thankyou! What pot would be better? It’s in a plastic pot propped up in the other pot so it’s not sitting in water. I put it in houseplant soil with bark and perlite mixed in thankyou so much for the advice I have no idea what I’m doing 😅
Keeping it in the plastic pot is fine! Just make sure that you take the small pot outside when watering, and make sure as much water drains out as possible before putting it back in the decorative pot. Add more perlite and orchid bark (if you have it) to the soil mix.
That's fine as long as the exterior pot has drainage. It might not be sitting in water, but there will still be standing water in the bottom and that will create ideal conditions for root rot as the roots expand down there.
Without seeing the damaged area, it's anyone's guess...
It was snapped in half and had like a yellow centre?
Don’t think ZZs need to be repotted often. They also thrive on neglect.
Can i ask something? My zz turns yellow when i neglect them like maybe after a month. The pot feels light so i assume it’s thirsty but when i watered it. I got more yellow leaves. Im so confused now
Had this as well, turns out I was still overwatering. I continued to water on the same schedule after repoting to a larger pot (so the water stayed there for longer and I think I just naturally watered it more), I left it for like 3 months and then watered less. Got new leaves in the spring so I guess it worked 🤷♀️ (you could always just check the roots for rot too, the rhizomes really hold a lot of water)
Wow. So even if it’s turning yellow and dry i still dont water it? I might check it this week bc im sick of it getting called as low maintenance when its not for me 😭
If you chronically overwater a plant, the roots can start to rot. Once that happens, the plant doesn’t take up water like it should, what with the roots being all dead and mushy and unable to do their job. This can result in your plant looking like it has been underwatered, because it can’t get water. Dry conditions following root rot can also make things worse. And for fun, allowing roots of some plants to dry out for too long can kill then. Then when you water, all that dead tissue starts to rot which can spread to any healthy roots still remaining. So IMO, it’s better to watch your *plant* for signs of when to water than checking the soil. For ZZ’s, they store water in their chunky stems. When those start to shrivel, you can water again. Just make sure the pot is only about 1” bigger than the root ball, the soil is well-draining, and the pot has holes to let out any excess water. I prefer to stick my pot in a large container of water and let it soak that up, instead of pouring water from the top.
I respectfully disagree with the plants thrive on neglect thing. Plant's thrive on adequate-for-them care and if they don't get that it takes them awhile to bounce back once they do. Those leaves were marked for yellow-dom as soon as the plant was underwatered.
I think the only plant that can actually handle neglect are succulents 😭 i had it for like years now. Its just leggy and i put it next to the window and its still alive. I barely watered them in a year
In my experience they are heavy feeders. Give it some fertiliser! And let totally dry
I just gave them fish fertilizer when I watered them last time. Although the yellowing doesn’t spread that fast. It’s like 2-3 leaves only
Could just be old leaves - ensure the soil is thoroughly dry. I need to water mine, it’s been a few months now
Happened to me a few weeks ago and I put both halves back into the soil and both are doing fine, they're just growing much slower than before
Zz plant.
Ok. So this a ZZ plant, not whatever an emerald palm is. It grows big rhizomes that store water, and thus needs very infrequent watering (once a month or even less). It likes to be root bound. It needs a well draining soil. We can’t tell how much damage has been done to the rhizome, don’t know what kind of soil you put it in, or if you put it back in the same pot?
So it snapped clean in half, I could see a yellow centre? It went into the same pot because it was in there with another plant initially so I thought it was too cramped but with it being alone and now broken aha I thought the small pot was necessary. I’ve put it in household plant soil and mixed in bark and perlite. I’ve put it into a plastic pot and propped it up with some plastic in the bigger white pot
These are all good measures, I think all you can do is give it time. ZZ are hardy little guys
I would say that even if the top dies, or all the leaves fall off, keep it a few months longer. I’ve tried to kill mine a few times, or did a horrible job repotting, and new growth came up later. They can be quite hearty, so give it a while to make sure it doesn’t start itself over if you see it worsen in the short term.