Imposing, with lush green foliage and up to a meter tall or even higher: Zamioculcas zamiifolia, also known as lucky feather or cardboard palm, is an attractive and popular houseplant. The thickened leaf stalks at the base with the strong pinnate leaves sprout straight up straight from a fleshy, thick rhizome. In good conditions and with appropriate care, the plant can become very large and just as extensive - however, pruning is not recommended in this case either.
The Zamioculcas does not need to be cut
Do not cut large plants, but divide them
In short: cutting the Zamioculcas is not necessary. As soon as the plant gets too big and threatens to explode its pot, repot it and can divide it into several individual plants. You just have to make sure that the different rhizome pieces each have at least one strong shoot. After repotting, the freshly divided plants will quickly sprout again. Even if a leaf dies, cutting it off is basically superfluous. Just wait until the plant has drained all the nutrients from it, then you can just pull the leaf out.
When cutting still makes sense
Sometimes, however, it can happen that a cut makes sense. Be sure to use scissors or a sharp knife
- when one or more leaf stalks turn brown and dry up
- when one or more petioles rot
- if one or more leaf stalks have been severely kinked
Cut off the affected stalk just above the ground, making sure to use clean and sharp tools. Give preference to a knife, because using scissors can crush the stems. Most of the time, such a cut does not bother the plant, it keeps sprouting out again - but not from the cut stump, it just stays there.
Tie up very long petioles
If the stems of a Zamioculcas become very long, there is a risk of kinking or the stems simply hang down unattractively. In this case, you can simply tie the leaf stalks together with a piece of raffia or something similar.
tips
Incidentally, you should not cut leaf cuttings, but pluck them instead - they root better then. You will further increase the chances of success if you dip the side to be rooted in a rooting powder before planting.