Welcome to this article that will be talking about why a ZZ plant might be growing in a leggy way. The reason is rather simple really. The plant is not getting enough sunlight each day. This reason is something that can be applied to basically all plants.
We recommend trying to get the ZZ plant about 8 – 10 hours of light each day in total. That is ideal for the plant to quickly grow and be able to perform photosynthesis. But when the plant is not getting that amount for a prolonged period, is when you will see a leggy look at the plant.
Follow along in the article and we will be diving even deeper into the topic of growing and caring for a ZZ plant. The variety is not the most common one out there but a great choice for beginners actually. It’s pretty hardy and resilient and will grow very steadily if treated correctly.
Leggy ZZ Plant
As we have already mentioned in the article here, the ZZ plant, or any plant for that matter will grow in a very leggy way when they aren’t getting enough sunlight. Now, this look won’t start happening after just a few days of not enough sunlight, it’s when it goes on for several weeks or months even.
You might wonder then what the ideal time is for the ZZ plant in terms of sunlight each day. For us, we find that the best growth will be achieved if it gets about 8 – 10 hours each day at least.
If you are seeing the plant only getting about 4 – 6 hours each day the plant will instead start growing in this leggy way. There is thankfully a pretty easy way to fix this issue though. Place the ZZ plant in a sunnier spot in your house. Often a south-facing window will be the best place.
Trimming the plant should be avoided when you are growing a ZZ plant and it’s growing in this leggy way. The plant is already stressing quite a bit because of not getting enough sunlight, so applying more stress should be avoided.
If you would like to know how to prune a ZZ plant then you should read this article right here, How To Prune ZZ Plant.
How Do You Make A ZZ Plant Bushier
Making a ZZ plant bushier is actually not done by trying to trim and prune the plant. We find that the best practice for getting a bushier appearance will be by making sure the soil is very healthy.
Using fertilizers and watering the soil properly is the golden secret to a bushy appearance. Fertilize the soil about every month or so and as for watering, the soil shouldn’t be wetter than just slightly damp.
If you are still keen on trimming the plant then cut the leaves at the very bottom. The smaller ones who aren’t really looking to grow bigger. Hopefully, this will trigger the plant to start growing some larger leaves instead.
If you see the root bulb above the soil then you should read this article right here, ZZ Plant Root Bulb Exposed.
Will ZZ Plant Stems Grow Back
The stems of a ZZ plant will start growing back actually. If you are trimming the plant in the hopes of having a bushier appearance then you won’t be disappointed. The plant will start growing out new stems if you are trimming already existing ones.
It might even start growing them back rather quickly in fact. We should also mention the possibility of taking these offcuts and propagating them into new plants instead. The ZZ plant is actually a really great plant for doing just that.
