Brugie,
Sounds great. Today is about 50 deg. F. with lots of sunshine the high should be around 55 today. Last night we had frost, it got to about 32. Its great weather to work in the yard. To bad I have to work during the day. I need to find a night job so I can play in my yard every day. LOL. Who needs sleep!
Stay warm,
Daisy
ZZ plant
I have a huge aroid or zz...I grow it outside year round in a huge terracotta pot....It is around 5 ft. tall now but in the pot it seems larger! It grows really fast...and is constantly putting off side shoots! I absolutely love mine...It is really humid here and it seems to love the humidity! ofcourse, it doesn't rain but once or twice a year so I water it occaisionally!
Chamma,
I would love to live in Zone 11. My poor tropicals have to get stuck in a green house all winter long in order to survive here.
Green with zone envy,
Daisy
Chamma, I'd love to see a picture of your plant. I'm getting one from Daisy later this spring and I might need to show it a picture to remind it what it should look like when it gets older. LOL!
LOL!
wal marts has them here for 10.00 but they were not to good looking where big bulb is lots the stalks were falling over breaking off.. but liked it when saw it first time did..waiting for them to mark bad ones down which was 90% were..
Yes, I saw them at a WALMART supercenter here in Missouri, too. Planted in shallow azalea pots for $9.97. They looked pretty good at the store where I saw them (Farmington, MO).
I wish I had known earlier about just sticking a leaf in soil to create new plants...I have knocked off many of them and just thrown them away. Not any more!
Susan
Thank you Daisy! what a nice plant you sent!
hhmm knock off a leaf,hhhmmm, Ok bad bad me ya got me thinking of plant rustling again.(slapping hands) I saw some really nice ZZ at Franks nursery today, the 1 foot ones were $20 and little 5 inch ones with only two plants in the pot were $8.
Wish the weather would straighten up here so I could have you send mine, but 14 inches of snow on the ground makes it pretty cool out there. LOL!
Here's a thread on ZZ propagation that you might find interesting.
It is a LONG SLOW process.
We divide ours it's much quicker.
http://davesgarden.com/t/42151/
Ric
Thanks for your comments, Henryr10, and the link. Leaf propagation does indeed sound slow, but I can't bear to throw away any sorts of propagules, so I am sure I will be trying it anyway next time I accidentally knock off some leaves.
Do you have any tips for minimizing damage when dividing? I wanted to tear off a piece of mine to give away a couple of years ago and decided not to after seeing the tangled, brittle, crowded roots. Maybe my fears of traumatizing the plant were not well-founded? Thanks!
Susan
perfect link henry10, Thank you.
When we divide them I treat them like I was trained to divide or repot Agave.
Gentle knock off all the soil you can and tease the roots apart.
If you need to sever some tubers use a sterilized knife and then some fungicide.
If you sever them let them callus up a few days.
Pot in bone dry potting soil.
Do NOT water for at least a week.
This allows any damaged roots to heal.
When you water do not deep water.
Use only enough to get the roots damp, not the whole pot.
You are trying to stimulate root growth not water the plant.
After you see growth THEN deep water.
Ric
Wow, just like a cactus. Thanks so much, Ric! I was intrigued when I got the plant (a freebie in a 3 inch pot, now 30 inches across) because the person who gave them away said they were "tropical succulents" which seemed like an oxymoron. Actually, I water mine the same as I do most of my other plants: More in summer, less in winter, let the top of the soil dry out between waterings. I think I should have a more shallow pot, though. I read that in their natural habitat they grow on rock outcroppings. Probably needs better drainage than I am giving it, too. Always something to learn more about here at Dave's!
Actually many Succulents are if not tropical at least tender perennials and won't take a frost let alone a freeze.
We have watered our ZZ's once since bringing them in,
that was last weekend, along w/ the pony-tail, agave, aloe and some of the cactus.
They were starting to wrinkle on the bulb part of the stem.
I used a weak cactus fertilizer on them.
They have started throwing shoots again so that's why I used the fert.
We have ours in 6" deep pots w/ an inch of coarse gravel on the bottom. The soil is very rich but free draining.
I just use 50/50 compost and commercial cactus soil.
Ric
Thanks, Ric. My pot is about 14 inches deep and wide, regular ( but good quality) potting soil. I will gently remove a piece this spring and try your suggestions. Mine is in a lace-curtained north exposure for the winter, and the room is cool,so it is not making any growth right now. I probably water it every 3 weeks.
Brugie,
You ZZ is going out today.
Thank you so much. I'm certainly looking forward to getting it and have to say how nice you are to share with me. I hope I can return the favor one day.
http://davesgarden.com/fp.php?pid=434069
This is a photo of my zz last year! It has doubled in size! I keep it outside year round but in a sheltered place from the blistering sun!
Looks great Chamma. Hoping mine will grow up to look like yours.