Zamioculcas Zamiifolia is commonly known as a ZZ plant or Zanzibar Gem. This tropical, neglect tolerant, easy to care for & easy to find (depending on where you live), it is a perfect house plant! It can tolerate bright sunlight, or very low light, and needs infrequent waterings. It can be grown outside as well, in zones 9-10. The same care can be applied to the Raven ZZ plant, as well as the same propagation techniques. The Raven ZZ is a luxurious dark black version of the ZZ plant, whose leaves start out bright green and deepen to black with time.

When it comes to propagating the ZZ plant, patience is key. People will say, you cannot propagate them, or the only way to do so is by division of the root ball, etc. This is not true!

It is possible to propagate a ZZ plant from a stem (in water) or leaf (in soil), however, if is going to grow roots much more slowly than something like a pothos or a philodendron, and there is a greater chance of failure. (I would recommend trying to propagate 3 or 4 leaves or stems at once, in case you lose some along the way).

 

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Materials

What you will need to get started depends on the method you are going to use. I will include all of the links to the materials at the end of the post!

Materials for Propagating Stems in Water:

• Clean Scissors or Gardening Shears
• Filtered Water
• Ground Cinnamon
• A small glass container to put your cutting in

Materials for Propagating leaves in Soil:

• Clean Scissors or Gardening Shears
• Ground Cinnamon
• A small pot with drainage
• A well draining soil
• Rooting hormone (While this is optional, I recommend it for propagating ZZ plants, to give it the best chance for survival)

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Stem Cutting Propagation in Water

The first method of propagation is by stem cutting. You are going to want to chose an established stem, while it doesn’t have to be the oldest stem, it should not be a brand new one, as these are not as strong as others, and will most likely not have as many leaves, which is how plants get their energy to grow roots.

Using a clean & sharp pair of scissors or gardening shears, you are going to want to cut the stem as close to the base as possible, making a clean cut.

After you make your cutting, I recommend dabbing ground cinnamon (yes, the kind of cinnamon you get in the spice aisle at the supermarket) on the spot where you made the cutting on the mom plant. This helps to heal and prevents disease and fungus.

You are then going to take your cutting(s) and place them in filtered water, with the cut part down , a few inches of the bottom of the stem should be submerged under the water. Try not to get the leaves in the water, as this can put the cutting at risk for disease and rot.

Simply place the jar of water with your cuttings on a window sill, or somewhere it can get filtered / indirect light, and change the water every 3-5 days, until the roots start to form. You can also place your propagation station outside (under cover so it doesn’t get too much direct sunlight) depending on where you live. I live in Florida, so this is feasible for me most of the year.

With ZZ propagation, you will notice that over time, a film of sorts will form on the part of the stem that is submerged in water, as well as some dark (kinda gross looking) build up that almost looks like rot at the part of the stem that was cut. You should wipe these off (with a paper towel) when you change the water out every 3-5 days.

Another important thing to note:

ZZ propagation takes MUCH longer than other more easily propagated plants.

Instead of a few weeks, it can take months for roots to even start to show on your cutting.  I made these cuttings at the end of December/early January (which you shouldn’t do in most climates, since the sun will not be strong enough to help the roots grow, and it is recommended to take cuttings in spring) , the first photo was taken mid april and the last 2 photos were the amount of roots that had grown mid-May, approx. 4.5 months after starting the process.

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Leaf Propagation in Soil

Using a clean pair of scissors or gardening shears, you are going to want to cut the leaf as close to the stem as possible (without damaging the stem of the parent plant). The stem that you chose to take the leaf from, should be a healthy and well established stem.

I recommend taking multiple leaves (without leaving a stem on your plant without any leaves) to propagate, because you will likely lose one if not a few during the propagation process. The leaves that you take do not need to all be from the same stem or even the same plant if you have multiple zz plants.

After you make your cutting, I recommend dabbing ground cinnamon on the spot where you made the cutting on the mom plant. This helps to heal and prevents disease and fungus. If you are propagating in soil, you can put the cinnamon directly on the leaf, before placing it in soil as well, however, I would use rooting hormone in lieu of this, to give your leaf the best chance of survival.

If you are using a rooting hormone, do not stick the leaf directly in the bottle of hormone. Instead, pour a little bit of the hormone onto a surface (I use plant saucers!), get the leaves a little wet on the end that was attached to the stem, and then dip them into the rooting hormone. Once you have rooting hormone on the end of the leaf, stick the stem into a well draining soil mixture in a pot with drainage (terracotta pots are amazing especially for this type of plant and they make super tiny ones that are perfect for this, I linked them below!).

You are going to want to water the leaf propagation more than you would a normal ZZ plant, keeping it moist, but never setting in a puddle of water (terracotta pots will help to avoid the over watering). The reason that ZZ plants don’t need to be watered often, is because they have tuber-like roots where water and nutrients are stored along the underground rhizome. Since the leaf has not grown this rhizome yet, it will need more frequent watering. I also have used bottom watering which is another option so you don’t over water it, especially if you are not using terracotta.

Once you plant your leaves, place it on a window sill, or somewhere it can get filtered / indirect light, you can also place it under a grow light* or outside (under cover so it doesn’t get too much direct sunlight) depending on where you live. I live in Florida, so this is feasible for me most of the year.
*I actually use high spectrum, day light 5000k, 100 watt led light bulbs and work clamp lamps as a cheap alternative to grow lights (links below!)

Another important thing to note:

ZZ propagation takes MUCH longer than other more easily propagated plants.

Instead of a few weeks, it can take months for roots to even start to show on your cutting. The photo above was taken about 4.5 months after I started the process!

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