Zamioculcas: how to care for a dollar tree at home

Zamioculcas, or the “dollar tree” (Zamiocúlcas), is a rare and undemanding ornamental plant that looks like a very rare gymnosperm called zamia. The houseplant has a very decorative appearance and is cultivated at home thanks to the lush, dark green foliage.

Botanical characteristic

Along with other succulents, zamioculcas is characterized by the accumulation of moisture inside the foliage, trunk and root system with the aim of its gradual expenditure in the future. The underground part is represented by a large water-storage tuber of yellowish staining. The stem part is thick, erect, fleshy, and moisture is retained at the base of the trunk.

Indoor flower has very beautiful leaves. The foliage of this decorative plant is leathery, glossy, dark green, ovoid, closely located on the short stem part. In indoor culture, the height of this ornamental plant reaches a meter, and keeping this relatively tall species at home is sometimes quite problematic.

Indoor culture is rare enough, but still blooms. Formed flowers are not attractive enough. Flowering is accompanied by the formation of a cob surrounded by a veil, but after the formation of flowers, the plant is restored for a long time, so it is recommended to remove the peduncles. Zamiokulkasy perfectly reproduce leaves and grow nodules.

Zamioculcas: landing and care

Description of the main types and varieties

There are several varieties of zamioculcas, not distinguished into separate species, but related to natural variations. Grown in culture zamioculcas (Zamioculcas zamiifolia), whose homeland is the eastern part of Africa, has a high decorative effect. The plant has a rhizome and foliage with a height of not more than 60 cm. Leaves - divided into eight to twelve separate feather-like leaves. Rakhis is thick and juicy, it is necessary for a houseplant to accumulate water. Cob flowers are white.

The natural variation of the ornamental plant is presented zamioculcas lanceolate, with longer, lanceolate leaf blades. The first cultural form of zamioculcas was developed by breeders less than ten years ago. This varietal variation is called Zamicro.

Growing a variety in room culture is not difficult, but in order to maintain decorativeness, care must be taken correctly at all stages of growth and development.

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Features of home care

The technology of growing Zamioculcas is quite accessible even for beginner growers, but involves compliance with some rules, among which the most important are the following:

• nutritious soil substrate for growing ornamental crops should be humic and have a pH of not more than 6 units;
• a good option is to use a soil mixture obtained on the basis of garden and forest land, as well as medium-grained pure sand, in a ratio of 1: 1: 3 parts with the addition of crushed coal;
• the flower pot must necessarily have large drainage holes, and before filling it with soil substrate, it is necessary to fill the drainage layer to the bottom, one third of the total size of the landing tank;
• watering the plant should be moderate in the spring-autumn period and greatly reduce irrigation measures in winter and early spring;
• zamioculcases, like other succulent cultures, are quite easily able to tolerate some overdrying of the soil, which reduces the risk of rotting of the root system and the formation of stem rot;

• for cultivation, places completely open to the sun's rays on the southern windowsills are well suited, but in the summer from midday heat it is recommended to obscure the decorative culture;
• windows of a western or eastern direction will be quite a suitable place for growing;
• in the spring, as well as in the summer-autumn period, zamioculcas need to provide a temperature regime in the range of 21-25 ° C;
• in winter, the southern plant will feel most comfortable at temperatures in the range of 16-17 ° C;
• it is very important to provide an ornamental indoor plant with an influx of fresh air, but without drafts of draft;
• in the period from April to August, the plant needs top dressing, and in order to properly feed the decorative culture, it is recommended to use fertilizer for cacti and succulents;
• Zamioculcas should be fertilized every two weeks, in the evening, on a fairly well-moistened soil.

The plant grows quite slowly, but the largest adult specimens need supporting structures equipped with rings. It is almost impossible to plant Zamioculcas without damage to the root system of the plant, but in this case it is possible to carry out reproduction and get new, young specimens. To divide indoor culture correctly, you need to know all the features of propagation of zamioculcas at home.

How zamioculcas propagates

Propagation of Zamioculcus

Zamioculcases are most often propagated in indoor floriculture by dividing adult bushes in the process of replanting a plant into a larger flower pot. Among other things, zamioculcases can easily enough be propagated not only by leaf-kidney cuttings, but also by means of individual leaf plates.

When dividing a leaf plate, it is very important to ensure that each dividing piece has a growth point. Immediately before rooting the leaf delenka or the cuttings of zamioculcas, the section of the cut must be sprinkled with crushed activated carbon, and then the planting material should be dried a little.

Rooting is done in indoor mini-greenhouses filled with a nutrient mixture based on river sand and non-acid peat. The optimal temperature regime for rooting, both cuttings and leaves, must be at least 20-22 ° C. The indicators of successful rooting are the formation of tiny nodules, after which young plants can be planted into separate small flower pots. The appearance of the first shoots can be expected in about six months.

The value of decorative culture

The superstition that characterizes this indoor decorative culture as a “celibacy flower” is of no small importance in the cultivation of zamioculcas. Nevertheless, in recent years, the use of an evergreen succulent plant of zamioculcus, already loved by domestic flower growers, has become a very fashionable and modern trend.

It is well known that the "dollar tree" is not only unpretentious, but also completely undemanding in the conditions of cultivation and care. In astrology, this popular decorative culture is positioned as a plant that can awaken confidence and determination, which makes this plant indispensable as a gift to men of any age.

Growing problems

The cultivation of a fairly unpretentious zamioculcus sometimes causes some difficulties for beginner growers:

• the foliage of the plant most often dies as a result of mechanical damage, so you need to handle the decorative culture with caution;
• insufficient lighting can cause stretching of the aerial part of the plant and a significant weakening of shoots;
• cultivation in low temperature conditions and in the presence of drafts or with excessive waterlogging, numerous dark spots may appear on the foliage of an ornamental plant;
• unbalanced irrigation at low temperatures often causes decay of the root system and stem part.

The fall of the lower foliage on the aerial part of the decorative culture is quite natural. This situation does not require correction.

Reviews and recommendations of flower growers

Zamiokulkas transplantation should be carried out in the spring or summer, every two to four years or as needed. Rare transplants allow you to quite effectively restrain the growth processes of indoor zamioculcas, which allows you to grow a culture in rooms with limited space. For growing and replanting, fairly high flower pots are used. It is optimal to use clay flower pots that are heavy enough to keep the culture from falling.

Features of growing Zamioculcas

When planting an ornamental plant in a too large or large flower pot, one cannot count on the rapid growth of the aerial parts of the culture, since the root system of the plant develops the substrate. Among other things, according to the opinions of experienced domestic amateur gardeners, when cultivated in too large pots, there is a very high risk of gulf and rotting of the root system of the plant, therefore, in order to maintain decorativeness, it is important to adhere to the agrotechnical culture determined by the botanical features.