When choosing a potted plant, many gardeners give preference to the money tree. It is believed to bring good luck and financial well-being. Before growing, you need to determine why to prune zamioculcas and how to do it correctly.
Pruning work is necessary so that Zamioculx feels normal in the pot and looks beautiful and bright. The illustration for the article is used under the standard license ©ofazende.com
Proper watering
When watering zamioculcas, it should be taken into account that this crop belongs to succulents. The plant is capable of extracting moisture from the air itself, so during the growing season the soil should be moistened only when the soil layer is half dry.
Irrigate the soil substrate approximately once a week, especially if the room is not too hot. In the cool season, Zamioculcas is watered even less frequently. You should not allow the earthen clod to dry out.
The need for watering can be easily determined by the leaves - they fall off the top of the shoots in case of drought. So in the wild, the flower reduces the area of evaporation and conserves moisture.
Water the zamioculcas with well-settled or filtered water. It is also necessary to protect the dollar tree from stagnation of moisture in the roots.
Does Zamioculcas need pruning? Recommendations for carrying out the procedure at home
This article will talk about why and how to prune Zamioculcas, which is common among home plant lovers and is called the “dollar tree.” Questions have been raised about how to care for it after pruning.
When does a dollar tree need pruning?
Pruning is one of the agricultural techniques. With its help, you can get a beautiful shape of the plant, as well as rejuvenate it by removing old and woody leaves. Pruning is used for propagation and treatment of diseased specimens .
Nitrogen
Zamioculcas is replanted every few years. The container is filled with soil of approximately the following composition: sand, garden soil, forest soil. Charcoal is sometimes added to this mixture.
Usually, the dollar tree has enough nutrients for a long time, because in nature it grows in rocky areas. If the plant does not dry out and regularly produces full-fledged shoots, it does not need to be fed. However, most experts agree that Zamioculcas needs nitrogen.
For feeding, special preparations for succulents are usually used. They are applied to moist soil twice a month, but only during the active growing season. Sometimes the foliar method is also used.
The fertilizer is diluted in a ratio of 1:10 with clean, settled water. The dry plant is sprayed with a spray bottle. When budding and flowering, zamioculcas should not be stimulated using this method.
Reproduction of Zamioculcas
Zamioculcas can be propagated in several ways. One of them is dividing the bush during transplantation. The separated part is usually placed in wet sand or in a mixture of sand, perlite and peat. The soil must be sterile - this is very important. Cover the top of the pot with a transparent cap or plastic wrap to create a greenhouse effect. You need to place the pot in a warm place where sunlight should fall.
The cuttings should have buds that wake up and give off side shoots. Leaf cuttings can be rooted first in water and then in soil. In this case, it is recommended to use well-known rooting stimulants - Heteroauxin, Kornevin, Zircon. Zamioculcas takes a long time to form roots: from one to two months. For rooting, it is recommended to choose large leaves. Before planting, divisions or cuttings with regrown roots need to be dried a little.
Moving towards the light
You can place Zamioculcas in an apartment or office on the windowsill or next to it. If the window faces south, it is better to place the pot away from it. Diffused lighting is enough for the flower.
On a northern windowsill, the plant may not receive enough sunlight. Western and eastern windows are considered ideal.
If the location for the container is chosen correctly, the shoots will be strong, not elongated, with healthy leaves often planted. Lack of light is expressed in the faded color of the above-ground parts.
How to properly prune a dollar tree
The term is incorrect, but it does not change the essence. The owners must take care that the flower remains beautiful, despite the fact that the stem is a rachis and the tuber is a stem.
The only way to rejuvenate Zamioculcas
Typically, old leaves are removed along with part of the rhizome when transplanting and dividing. Step-by-step instruction:
- Take a flower out of a pot.
- Carefully disassemble into tubers.
- Throw away cuttings with wrinkled or drying rhizomes and rachis.
- Wash and clean rot-affected areas.
- Disinfect and dry wound surfaces.
- Plant in separate small pots.
From one old overgrown zamioculcas, several new, small ones are obtained. This is rejuvenation.
Formation
The beautiful crown of Zamioculcas ensures proper care. The form can be adjusted as follows:
- The more sun a flower receives, the slimmer its leaves will be.
- In partial shade, rachises grow at an acute angle; in the shade, with minimal illumination they become spreading. They tend to move into a horizontal plane; those in the center remain erect due to the support of the thick bases of neighboring leaves.
- To form a narrow vertical crown, zamioculcas needs to be planted in a tall pot with a small diameter hole, placed in a bright place, protected from the midday sun.
- A lush bush is formed in a standard container.
- Dense thickets can be obtained in a wide container if you plant several zamioculcas there.
- The more light the plant receives, the denser the segments on the rachis.
- The leaves can be tied to each other. To make this unnoticeable, use green garden clamps.
Sanitary measures
Trimming shrunken segments is allowed at any time. Naked rachises still participate in photosynthesis; they can be camouflaged by tying them to leafy ones, or by turning the pot the other way.
The yellowed, dried central axis is cut back to healthy tissue. If you remove it completely, photosynthesis will stop, the rhizome may die - it is not known whether there is another leaf on it. This will have to be dealt with during transplantation: the rachis is cut into a stump, or the entire tuber is thrown away.
Useful tips
Most often, growing Zamioculcas does not cause any special problems. However, having a dollar tree in your home may raise some questions.
Is Dollar Tree Poisonous or Not?
Like other plants of the aroid family, Zamioculcas is a poisonous plant. Moreover, the poison is contained both in the stem and in the leaves of the flower.
Exposure to the poison may affect your health with the following side effects:
- skin burns;
- allergic reactions;
- intestinal upset when plant juice enters the gastrointestinal tract;
- blurred vision if the poison gets on the mucous membrane of the eye.
To prevent your health from deteriorating, follow the basic rules for handling flowers:
- When transplanting and pruning leaves, only wear gloves;
- Always wash your hands after contact with zamioculcas;
- do not start a dollar tree if there are people with allergies, small children or pets in the family;
- do not place a flower pot in a child's room or bedroom.
Pollen on flowers can also cause allergies, so remove the flower immediately when the first symptoms occur.
Why does it grow poorly and not produce new shoots?
There may be several reasons for this phenomenon:
- Zamioculcas is in the resting phase;
- insufficient lighting in the room;
- violation of humidity standards;
- shallow pot;
- incorrect transplantation;
- insufficient drainage.
Please note that if the plant has just been purchased, it may simply adapt to the new environment.
Why do the leaves turn yellow?
If yellow leaves appear only on old branches, and new ones remain bright and green, do not worry. The plant is simply going through the growth phase of young leaves. Otherwise, the plant is affected by unsuitable external conditions or pests.
How often does it bloom
In fact, Zamioculcas blooms at home extremely rarely. This happens only on mature plants that have lived for more than two to three years.
What to do if a branch breaks off
In such a case, carefully trim the broken branch at its very base, and sprinkle the remaining cut with activated carbon powder.
How to choose a healthy plant in the store
Unscrupulous sellers may hide the real age of Zamioculcas. If you want to buy a young plant, take a closer look at its leaves. They should be bright green and free of defects. The height of a young flower can reach approximately 30 cm.
If you like a mature, formed tree, give preference to a plant with succulent, fleshy leaves and a properly formed crown.
Do not buy zamioculcas if its branches have dried out and the leaves have turned yellow and withered. It is possible that the flower is infected with a disease or pest.
Is it possible to give a dollar tree?
It is believed that zamioculcas will bring financial well-being to a home only if it is given as a gift by a loved one. The appearance of a plant in the house should be accompanied by a significant event associated with something new, for example: New Year, Birthday or housewarming.
Zamioculcas is a houseplant that, according to popular belief, can bring material well-being to the family. The dollar tree is unpretentious in care and cultivation. It is enough to observe the correct temperature and light conditions, as well as feed the flower on time. You can replant or propagate a plant without much effort, and if the tree becomes sick or becomes infected with parasites, it can be easily restored.
Today we will tell you the secrets of planting and growing a “dollar tree”.
You will learn the basics of care and propagation, as well as some interesting facts about the plant.
Types and varieties
Zamioculcas grows on the mountain plateaus of tropical Africa. The tuber stem is located underground in a small amount of soil. The shoots that look like branches with small oblong leaves are actually large leaves.
The Zamioculcas flower is a member of the Araceae family. This genus is represented by only one species with the main subspecies Zamielia. Today, additional subspecies already exist, one of them is the lanceolate plant (Z. Lanceolata), and the second is the Boivin flower.
Zamioculcas is also called Loddiges after the gymnosperm zamia. The origin of the plant is South Africa. This representative of the flora is quite expensive, but despite this, it is very common and in great demand. The appearance of the plant is very unusual. It grows from a large tuber, has 4-6 pinnate leaves, is formed in the form of a rosette and grows in height up to 100 cm. It has the ability to store liquid.
Zamioculcas Boivena is called the Zanzibar Pearl in the places where it grows. Its homeland is South Africa, preferably growing on the coast of Madagascar. It is often called "Women's happiness." Water can accumulate in a large tuber, but the flower prefers regular watering and spraying from a spray bottle. This subspecies does not tolerate dry air well. The flower has leathery leaves of emerald color, blooms rarely and does not last long. It is planted in deep and wide pots; it is better to use neutral or slightly acidic soil. If you feed regularly, the plant will grow greatly. Perfect for beginner gardeners.
Zamioculcas variegated or variegated - very rare, practically not sold in flower shops. Its homeland is the island of Madagascar. Grows up to 1.5 m in height, the leaves are succulent, bright green, pointed at the tips.
Zamioculcas lanceolate is so called because of its elongated leaves of an unusual lanceolate shape. It can reach a height of 1.5 m and above. In 2007, breeders bred a plant that is a complete copy of the ancestor, but in miniature, only 60 cm in height.
Zamioculcas black is a plant with almost black leaves. There are no more differences with the Zamioculcas species Zamifolia. The leaves are fleshy, attached to a common stalk, pointed at the tips. Young shoots are light green in color; when the bush gets older, they begin to darken.
Fashionable haircut
We found out how to get rid of zamioculcas pests. How to further care for it and prune it is the next stage of our conversation. This question is important for anyone who has decided to have such an attractive plant with leaves that strongly resemble coins. The care itself was discussed in our previous articles, so let’s take a closer look at molding.
Why does a tree need pruning? Any plant requires the correct balance of water and light. Zamioculcas, which is easy to care for, is able to form its own crown, which has a positive effect on its growth, but it is not so rare that pruning is still required. In this case, it should be planned for the period when the greatest growth is observed, that is, the sap moves along the stem very actively.
It is best to prune when the branches begin to grow only upwards, but not to the sides. To give the crown a beautiful spherical shape, you should carefully remove the top bud, which receives the most nutrients. Next, side branches that have grown too large or the direction of their growth is incorrect are eliminated. After this molding, the crown takes on the desired shape.
Preparing for transplant
After molding, the dollar tree flower begins to actively throw out lower buds, which over time will become independent branches. But you will have to make sure that all parts of the plant receive the same nutrition, otherwise the crown will turn out to be one-sided, and some branches will dry out. If one of the young branches begins to grow faster than the others, then it is better to cut it off so that the crown retains its attractive appearance.
You cannot prune in winter, since the money tree at home during this period completely stops growth. If you start pruning branches in winter, the new shoots will become pale, elongated, and they will lack nutrition. The best time for molding is spring. At this time, all the buds grow evenly, the leaves-coins turn out to be plump, justifying the name of the tree.
The dollar tree, which is easy to care for, usually requires almost no pruning. It is recommended to remove only dried, crooked, diseased branches, without touching healthy ones. Zamioculcas differs from other indoor plants in that it is able to independently form its own crown.
To trim woody parts, you need to use pruners or sharp scissors, but leaves and buds can be pinched without much difficulty. The plant recovers easily, the affected areas heal quickly, completely hiding the stumps under new shoots.
Attention and care
Caring for your pet is quite simple, it resists diseases well, insects damage it only when the rules of care are not followed. Sometimes pruning is required to improve the nutrition of the branches and ensure that they receive the proper level of light. As you can already see, getting a fashionable haircut is quick and easy. Proper attention and care will definitely turn your pet into a wonderful green creature, bringing good luck and happiness to your home.
The dollar tree or zamioculcas is a houseplant that has gained particular popularity among many families. The flower is believed to bring financial well-being to its owners.
