New to houseplants- how to not kill ZZ Plant and Dracaena Marginata?

8 years ago

Hi everyone,

I'm a total beginner at houseplants and just purchased a couple new ones. I wondered if anyone could shed some light on best practices for caring for them as I'm kind of terrified I'm gonna kill them!

One is a ZZ plant- it was pretty tight in the plastic pot, so the nursery suggested I pot it into something a bit bigger. I am not sure what kind of soil it was originally potted in, but after looking through forums I bought C&S soil to repot it in. Two questions:

when i repotted it, i was afraid to break or damage the roots- so i basically removed it from the plastic pot it was in and plopped the whole thing into a well in the C&S soil and then put some more C&S around it...is this ok? Or should I have removed all of the old soil from the roots?
In addition to the C&S soil, should I have placed some pebbles or perlite or something in the bottom of the pot to help with drainage? The pot has a drainage hole but it's really small

The other plant I bought a small Dracaena Marginata. It was already in a good size ceramic pot, so I didn't need to repot that one. Just wondering about how often I should water it and if I should let it dry out between waterings? It's in a north facing window but the window is absolutely giant as I live in a 25' ceiling loft.

Thanks SO much!

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Comments (5)

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
8 years ago
Hi! These are not terribly picky plants, things should go well, assuming both are in a pot with a hole in the bottom, and not inappropriately dense/soggy/muddy soil. :+)

The one picky aspect of Dracaenas is being sensitive to tap water
chemicals. Whenever possible, give that rain water, distilled, or
condensate from a dehumidifier or A/C. Sounds like it might be too big to move for watering. A turkey baster will help you remove excess water from a drip saucer.

First, the fun. Both of these plants have a "strange people" article. If you like to find the humor in things, plants have some too:
http://plantsarethestrangestpeople.blogspot.com/2009/11/fall-guy-dracaena-marginata.html
http://plantsarethestrangestpeople.blogspot.com/2008/07/stoner-zamioculcas-zamiifolia.html

"should I have removed all of the old soil from the roots?" Yes, that's repotting. What you described doing is merely potting up. Repotting is preferred because variation in soil type/texture makes it difficult for moisture to move from one to the other.

"should I have placed some pebbles or perlite or something in the bottom" No, that doesn't help with drainage/aeration, it's just an old wives' tale. Many previous discussions about this if you feel like searching/reading more.

I'm also a huge fan of the great info here:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1490818/good-growing-practices-an-overview-for

If you are able to share a pic of your plants, please do. Everyone loves plant porn!
k8lizzy
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks so much Tiffany!

That's super helpful- and great to know about the dracaena and tap water.

Attached are some pics of the plants- my dracaena is little for now. As far as the zz plant, I figured that mixing soil was probably not ideal. I may need to take it back to the nursery and have them help me repot it as I'm totally unsure of how to do it in a small apartment! Do I need to wash the roots to get all the soil off?

Lastly, I attached a pic of the c&s soil I bought to repot the zz in. Do you think this is a good mix for the plant? Thanks so much again for the help, it is much appreciated!!!
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There is a significant difference between repotting and potting up. One eliminates the limitations imposed by root congestion, the other ensures the perpetuation of those limitations until such time as they are eliminated by physically correcting the congestion. Air layering the top of the plant is the safest way to propagate your plant because the method stops the polar flow (from top to roots) of a growth regulator (auxin) that inhibits lateral growth (back-budding or new shoots); so, at the same time you're producing a new plant from the top (layering), you're stimulating new shoots from below the point of the air layer. It's not a difficult process. A second method, which also carries very little risk, would be to cut the top of the plant back, leaving only a few healthy leaves. This also inhibits the polar flow of auxin and forces back-budding lower on the plant. In successive years, you can 'chase' foliage all the way back to shoots growing very low on the plant. You use the term 'leggy'. Leggy happens when the plant isn't getting enough light and usually accompanies a weak stem that is reluctant to support itself. Your plant's natural growth habit is to regularly shed older leaves and occasionally produce another branch here and there. It will produce far more branches w/o your help if you can get it outdoors where there is lots of air movement and good light - as found in open shade. Then, you can prune the top back to one of those lower branches with virtually no risk to the plant. Al
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Thanks purpleinopp for providing your link "here" to Garden Web Houseplants section on soils et al.... Lots of things I could use to think about what I'm doing and improve upon it. I always thought the soil that came with the plants was the "right" soil and reluctantly repotting when the plant became root bound i.e. seeing roots come out of holes or blocking holes at bottom or lack of new green growth have all been signs I've use to determine when to repot the plant (with bare to roots new soil and cutting off encirling roots at bottom). If these are not the methods I see you recommending let me know. I have other dracaena species (not always identified correctly--- newest one came with label in soil so its a Warneckii Dracaena)... so I read these posting with interest and responded here, hope it was right place. I also used something called "Black Magic" that was sold in 80s I guess, I have a bag left for knowing what it is in case I ever find something like it..... lots of my plants have it still in them unless I needed to repot them for various reasons and lost the soil then... I just always thought the light and airy soil was best so now I see the downsides to that as your link showed me about perched water and too wet at the bottom what it does to plants.... The only one I can think is suffering is my tall braided weeping Ficus tree, but unfortunately its reached the size where I need someone else to help me repot it (other sites say and agree you don't need to go to a larger size pot they are happy root bound, but soil is old), so there it stands (I tried scooping out some soil out of the pot and replacing it with more soil does that help when the pot is too big and plant too tall (over 6 feet) to repot easily?) Lots of little quesitons here, if not clear let me know and I'll repost it, just wanted to respond while the topic was being viewed and current. Thanks! Forest_of_Houseplants
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Joe1980
8 years ago
ZZ plants are quite sensitive to overwatering, so be careful in making sure you let the mix dry out before watering. Ideally, you'd want to put it in a fast draining, well aerated mix.

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Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
8 years ago
Happy to share info that's helped me.

If the old soil and new are quite similar, it's probably fine. It's when they're drastically different that troubles can arise. A judgment call that you're prob in the best position to make since you saw/felt both. Is the soil level the same as it was before, like the plant is no more covered or uncovered than it was before?

I've never bought that same bag, but if it's chunky, larger particles, it should work well.

It's hard to say if the old soil will just kind of fall off of the roots, or be more compacted and stuck together. All kinds of weird stuff goes on in pots. A spread of newspaper, cardboard box, or something like a plastic
tablecloth or tarp would be helpful if tackling a repotting job in an
apartment.

Those are great looking specimens, TY for sharing the pics!
summersunlight
8 years ago
To repot, I would suggest simply taking the plant outside (assuming you live in an area where it is now spring and temperatures are above freezing). Hold the stem of the plant to support it, tip the pot over, and gently pour the soil/root mass out of the pot. Knock most of the old soil off of the plant (you don't have to do it very hard, and don't need to bother washing the soil off all the roots) then put the plant back in the pot and cover it with fresh soil.

New to houseplants- how to not kill ZZ Plant and Dracaena Marginata?

Comments (5)

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL

k8lizzy
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New to houseplants- how to not kill ZZ Plant and Dracaena Marginata?

Comments (5)

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL

k8lizzyOriginal Author

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Joe1980

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL

summersunlight

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k8lizzy
Original Author