Just stick it in a glass of (room temp.) water so that the bottom 2-4" of the stem are in the water. I don't change the water, I only ADD to it, but I also throw in some bits of charcoal chips (aquarium grade from the pet store) which keeps the water from getting yucky or growing algae. Will take quite some time so pls. be patient, if you've got a clear vase than you can SEE when it roots, otherwise, just take the stem out to check in a couple of months & then every month or so.

I just wanted to update the status of my ZZ plant. We get so used to the new growth that we tend to forget exactly how much our plants have grown. I checked out my previous photos as I scrolled down to the bottom of this post and I couldn't believe the difference between now and then. I told you that I counted at least twenty new leaves growing on it; which started back around the Fourth of July. Well, it hasn't stopped growing since then, and it's been three months now. All I did for this plant is repot it back during spring, and set it out next to my driveway, where it got very bright, indirect sunlight all day long. I planned on repotting it into a pot one size bigger, but there were so many roots, that I decided to go up to two sizes instead. And I'm glad I did. This plant has exploded with so much new growth this year alone. I can still pick it up with relative ease, but now it's gotten so much heavier. I may have to repot it again next year. Not that I'm complaining, lol. For a ZZ plant, it has most definitely taken me by surprise. In this first photo, you can kind of see the darker older growth, the medium first new growth, as well as the pale newest growth. As you can see, it's been quite busy this summer. I plan on moving it back outside into the spot I had it in, so that it can soak up more of that remaining summer sunlight, :)

Wow! That is just incredible! I wouldn't have thought to use that soil for container plants but I sure will do so when it's time for repotting :) If I may, I have one more question...not sure that you'd know the answer but you certainly seem to have a ton more experience with these lovely plants than I have so it's worth a shot asking! So I purchased a ZZ, "Zena" from my local Walmart a few months ago at the beginning of summer for $10. I had no idea what a ZZ plant was or if I'd ever even seen one before. I just new it was uniquely gorgeous and I had to have it for my fireplace mantle! All I've done is water it when I feel the top 2 inches of soil is dry as well as give it a couple of pumps of miracle grow plant food maaayyybe 3 of the times I've watered it (so maybe once in June, July & August). Since then, it has sprouted 3 new light green stems full of leaves and the shorter bushier stems have filled out quite nicely on the bottom making the plant look even fuller than when I purchased it! :) Well recently I came home from a trip and there was this short yellow stem of leaves. Not sure if this stem was one of the shorter bushy stems already present in the plant & those leaves just turned yellow or if this sprouted up new and yellow within the 3 days I was away at work? I'm at a total loss. Have done some research the past couple of days and some people have reported that it's a seasonal change that affects usually only one stem. Some have said the oldest stems will sometimes turn yellow and die off. Some think it's possible they may have a "variegated" stem of the plant growing in with the regular green version of the plant. Some even say that it's a sign of overwatering and the tubular roots inside could be soggy & dying. I don't think that's the case with Zena, as I make sure she's dry down to the soil at the drainage holes at the bottom of her pot before watering. Question is, have you seen anything like this with your ZZ's or perhaps have heard of this happening before and possibly know what it is? I've touched the stem & leaves & they look and feel quite strong and normal. They just look "odd" compared to all the other deep dark green stems in the pot. It doesn't bother me a bit, in fact I love eccentricities in all things so I feel blessed to have this little oddity sticking out the side now, but I just wonder if I need to be concerned? I should let you know that I live in Colorado and when I left for my trip the temps were consistently 75-80° inside the house but when I returned 3 days later it was 50° outside so inside the house it was about 65-70°. I wondered if maybe it got too cold & that caused the color change or new growth of the yellow stem? Any thoughts you might have are greatly appreciated! Thanks for your help! Len

Apologies for disagreeing, but the POTENTIAL for growth and health of plants in larger pots with plenty of room for roots to run is much greater than plants grown tight in smaller pots. IOW, No Plant 'Likes' to be Rootbound. If they did, Mother Nature would have programmed the root systems of her charges to grow in tight little cubes and cones directly under the stems. Since that NEVER occurs naturally, it's a good bet it's not a plant-propitious arrangement. The 'root bound myth' came into being by growers who were forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. If your soil doesn't support a soggy layer of water at the bottom of the pot (a perched water table), over-potting is impossible - you could grow a tiny but perfectly happy/healthy cutting in a 55 gallon drum filled with soil. If your soil is excessively water-retentive, you are literally forced to consider the size of the pot carefully, or suffer the consequences of over-potting - usually root rot or the cyclic death and regeneration of roots that occurs when the soil retains water excessively. We know with absolute certainty that tight roots limit the plant's vitality and growth potential, and this begins to occur at the approximate point in time where the soil/root mass can be lifted from the pot intact. This cannot be argued. You can walk up to any rootbound plant and, with a glance, assess how congested the roots are by looking at the decreasing internode length caused by root congestion and/or how the foliage is arranged on branches/stems/crowns. Even though smaller pots and root bound conditions are inherently limiting, we too often CHOOSE this limitation, because to us, the specter of root rot due to the combination of a poor soil and a larger pot is the more worrisome horn of THAT dilemma. Somehow, the idea that the lesser of two evils was conflated to mean a superlative arrangement. It's not. In fact, when we consider the comparative degrees good/ better/ best, it's well south of good. To avoid both horns of the dual perplexity, tight roots AND over-potting, simply make a soil that does not hold enough water to limit root function, regardless of pot size. Al