Cardboard paper palm, lucky feather… the popular houseplant Zamioculcas zamiifolia goes by many names. The attractive plant comes from East Africa and belongs to the aroid family. Like almost all members of this widespread plant family, the Zamioculcas is also very prolific, so that cut leaves and shoots quickly form new roots.

The Zamioculcas offshoots should have at least four leaves

Only use healthy mother plants for propagation

However, you should not take cuttings from sick or ailing mother plants for propagation, because these will not be healthy either - after all, vegetative propagation is a kind of creation of clones: the offshoots obtained have exactly the same properties as the mother plant.

Put leaf cuttings in the growing substrate

The Zamioculcas is usually propagated by leaf cuttings. This procedure has proven itself for rooting:

  • Pluck off one or more feather leaves.
  • You can also cut these off, but then they root less well.
  • Dip the leaf with the severed edge in a rooting powder.
  • Now put it about two centimeters deep in a pot with potting soil.
  • Keep the substrate evenly moist.
  • Put a cut off PET bottle or something similar over the cutting.
  • Place the pot in a bright, but not direct sun location.

Now you have to be patient, because it can take up to 12 months for the new plant to take root.

Root cuttings with multiple leaves

In addition to individual leaves, you can also use whole petioles with multiple leaves as cuttings. However, unlike leaf cuttings, these should be rooted in water.

  • Cut a petiole with four or five leaves.
  • Place it in a dark container with fresh, warm water.
  • Place the jar in bright, but not direct sunlight.
  • An east or west facing window is ideal.
  • In addition, it should be consistently warm.
  • Change the water daily to keep fungus from growing.

After a few months, small tubers will develop, from which the roots will eventually emerge. Now you can plant the Zamioculcas in normal soil, but you will have to wait a while for the first real shoot.

tips

If you want the leaf cutting to root faster, you should water it with self-made willow water instead of tap water or rainwater.

Category:

Vegetable garden