I've found the yellow sticky cards not useful for killing fungus gnats---they just aren't that attracted to them, unlike whitefly. I also gave up the cards cuz I would have my house all clean and beautifully decorated with my favorite plants, and then see dead bugs stuck to bright yellow cards everywhere. ICK ICK ICK! My ZZ plant really suffers from gnats too because there is a lot of dirt available around the stems. My favorite product is Gnatrol----it is a naturally occuring bacteria that is only harmful to the gnats. You'll probably have to get it off the internet cuz I've never seen it in stores. It's not expensive---maybe $25 dollars per liter, which will last a LONG time. You mix a small bit of it with water and then just wet down the top inch of soil (do not actually water the plant with it---you'll rot the ZZ and waste the Gnatrol). When you first put it on it'll smell like a ....a bad fart (excuse the language, but that's what my husband thought I was doing in the growing room when I used it---I almost died laughing!). Once it dries there will be no odor at all. :) Happy gnat killing, as I hate those disgusting little buggers. ;) Oh, one more thing. An inch of fine sand on top of your soil will prevent gants too, but it makes it harder to test moisture levels. Personally it's too much mess for me but I know others who successfully use that technique.

I've never heard of this, ZZs leaking. Why would you take off the leaves? I'd stop watering it if it has no leaves. If you're trying to propagate this, I'd either leave it in the mix dry for a long time, or take it out of the mix & place in glass of water (I have experience this way for a bare stem). Leave it there until it forms a small pea size ball at the bottom, OR you see roots coming out of the bottom & then place it back into dry mix & give it a couple of weeks DRY at least, then start watering.

I agree with the above-more light. It's in a pot that drains, and I water it about once a week (if that). I would make sure the soil dries completely before watering-once a week may be too often during winter. If the soil remains too moist the the tubers of the ZZ plant under the soil may rot. ZZ plants can cope with dryness well-that's why they have the tubers in the first place (to store water/nutrients). You can use the wooden dowel method to check for dryness-take a wooden dowel (or chopstick), stick it all the way down into the soil, and wait for ten minutes. Afterwards, pull it up. if there is dirt clinging to the wood/the wood feels wet/the wood is dark-colored, then the soil is still moist and does not need any water. If the dowel is clean/dry/light-colored, then the soil is completely dry and you can water.

If this occurs (with ZZs) when you can still detect moisture deep in the pot with a "tell", you're very likely over-watering or one of the damping-off fungaluglies are at work rotting roots. If it doesn't regain turgidity and plump up within a day after-watering, serious damage to roots has likely occurred due to a prolonged period of dry soul and root desiccation. A high level of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil solution can also cause the symptoms shown. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al