Image – Wikimedia/Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz
While visiting a nursery, you may have seen the common zamioculca (or ZZ plant as it is sometimes called), which has green leaves. It’s very pretty and easy to maintain, but… Did you know there is a cultivar with very dark green leaves that look almost black?
Its full scientific name is Zamioculcas zamiifolia cv Black Crowalthough in specialized stores they sell it as crow zamioculca or black zamioculca. Do you want to know their support?
Contents
What are the characteristics of black zamioculca?
In reality, the only difference between the green zamioculca, that is, the typical one, and our protagonist is the color of its leaves and stems, which are much darker. For the rest, it is a rhizomatous and succulent plant that reaches an approximate height of 50 centimeters, so it is possible to grow it in a pot.
Very interesting for beginners, because resists drought very wellso if at any time you forget to water it, nothing will happen to it (as long as it’s a matter of occasional oversights: we don’t have to go so far as to see how the earth creaks because of of its dryness).
The flower is very rare to see, but you should know that more than just a flower, it is actually an inflorescence in the shape of a small white vase.
All parts of this plant are poisonous if ingestedit should therefore not be placed within the reach of children or pets.
How is it supported?
Picture – plantingman.com
In Spain, as well as in other countries with a temperate climate, It is often used as a houseplant., since it does not resist the cold. However, if we have a patio, balcony or terrace where the sun does not shine directly, we can take advantage of spring and especially summer to have it there.
For it, We will explain how to take care of you both inside and outside the house. so you know how to keep it healthy:
Location
- If you’re gonna be inside the house, we will place it in a place where there is a lot of light, but at a certain distance from the windows. This is very important, because if you put it right in front of them, the leaves would burn. For this reason, it is best to place them either under the glass or in another area of the room. Also make sure that it is not exposed to drafts, such as those generated by fans, air conditioning, etc., otherwise it will also have a bad time: its leaves will dry out and eventually fall off.
- if you go out, what we are going to do is put it in partial shade, in an area where there is a lot of light but no direct sun. Black zamioculca is somewhat more sensitive to direct sunlight than green leaves, precisely because it contains less chlorophyll, which is the pigment that gives plants their green color and also participates in photosynthesis. This is why it is very important to be very careful not to leave it in a place where the sun’s rays reach it directly, even if only for a moment, because the plant would burn.
Irrigation
We will water the black zamioculca from time to time. It can go a few days without water, as it is drought resistant, so we only water it when the soil is dry. We can easily know this if we take the pot and notice that it weighs little: when the wet soil weighs much more than when it is dry, then this difference in weight will be used to know when we have to rehydrate it again.
But if you want to know, more or less, how many times a week you should do it, one or two in the summer will be enough, and less the rest of the year.
Ground
It is a plant that grows in well-drained soilsThey do not waterlog easily. For this reason, if it is to be in a pot, we recommend mixing equal parts peat with perlite, or obtaining a high quality substrate such as Universal Flower or Westland.
And if you want to have it in the garden, it is important that it be planted in light soil. Otherwise, we will have to make a planting hole about half a meter wide and deep, and fill it with the substrate just mentioned.
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Image – Wikimedia/Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz
The black zamioculca it must be fertilized occasionally, in spring and especially in summer with a liquid green plant food like this one as directed.
Transplant
You have to change the pot every 2 or 3 springsand plant it in the garden also in this season only if it is warm and there are never frosts.
hardiness
Being a tropical plant, can’t stand the cold. Therefore, it should be kept indoors if temperatures drop below 5°C.
Or buy?
What do you think?