--- title: "I recently found this raven ZZ at a local nursery that was both…" description: "I recently found this raven ZZ at a local nursery that was both healthy and under $30 (!!!) Naturally, it came home with me. She’s still in her nursery pot…" url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/QuJKzmTns1BafyBejCXtzt?language=sv" community: "Anything about plants 🇺🇸" author: "Ms.Issy" published: "2025-06-15T15:28:53.480239Z" language: "en" image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/livSpt4Z6M_b_ZjChwUVsgkeRerC3ULlKbMAiYtJK8I/9pLM0_r5Rzu4yvMDurcTnw.webp?size=large" --- [Community](https://getplanta.com/community.md?language=sv) / [Anything about plants 🇺🇸](https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg.md?language=sv) # I recently found this raven ZZ at a local nursery that was both… _Postat av Ms.Issy den 2025-06-15_ I recently found this raven ZZ at a local nursery that was both healthy and under $30 (!!!) Naturally, it came home with me. She’s still in her nursery pot (photo 1), but I found a cute cover pot for it (photo 2). I watered her today as she was dry all the way to the bottom of the pot; and cleaned her very dusty leaves. I’ve placed her about 6’ - 8’ away from a south facing window. Does anyone have any tips for keeping a ZZ happy? Does lighting affect that beautiful black color (Google couldn’t give me a straight answer)? ![Bilaga 1 av 2](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/livSpt4Z6M_b_ZjChwUVsgkeRerC3ULlKbMAiYtJK8I/9pLM0_r5Rzu4yvMDurcTnw.webp?size=large) ![Bilaga 2 av 2](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/livSpt4Z6M_b_ZjChwUVsgkeRerC3ULlKbMAiYtJK8I/an3Uyb5QQgS_1rR3TSbJIQ.webp?size=large) ## 15 kommentarer ### Katherine kommenterade den 2025-06-15 In my experience they’re very easy to care for! You can put them anywhere bc they don’t need too much light and their roots grow really strong without you having to do much work. Just give it some water when it looks dry but yeah they’re pretty hard to kill. The new green growth will turn black eventually! ### Yolanda kommenterade den 2025-06-15 No the lighting does not affect the dark leaves. Just do not overwater it, keep leaves dusted, spin your plant every time you water so it can grow evenly all the way around. Just remember ZZ plants really like to be left alone, only water when the soil is almost dry so basically keep soil moist not soaked. I have both of mine in self watering pots and I yet test the soil with a moisture meter even when the chamber goes empty before watering. The rhizomes in this plant stores water for the leaves. Spray maybe once a month with neem oil just as a precaution however, because of the wax leaves this plant does not get pest easily ### Yolanda kommenterade den 2025-06-15 Also this plant enjoy very tight spaces so you can leave it in that pot until it look like the pot is almost about to burst or the roots are protruding out the drainage holes badly. The tighter the better ### Yolanda kommenterade den 2025-06-15 I love my ZZ plants, Zac and Ravan ![Bilaga 1 av 2](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/YJJidWl8yghcg0Wa-wOE-i_0s9kY6A5yWb8qoP4VOxs/6vWC8BBPRYKTth1mEVq8Ow.webp?size=large) ![Bilaga 2 av 2](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/YJJidWl8yghcg0Wa-wOE-i_0s9kY6A5yWb8qoP4VOxs/r2EK75tTRtaBCX5uxt5T8Q.webp?size=large) #### Ms.Issy svarade den 2025-06-15 I’ve named mine Breksta. I love seeing how many people name their plants! Makes me feel less alone in my naming habits 😅 ### fuey kommenterade den 2025-06-15 This is one of my plants I treat similarly to my succulents. The potato in the soil is a rhizome that holds water, so even if the soil is dry, it may not need watering. I keep mine in a nursery pot and a chunky soil mix and it’s thriving. I’ve had it since February and it’s grown so big🥹 I was going to upsize it because of that but when I looked at the roots, they weren’t very large and were doing fine. So I don’t think they have a very large root system despite how large the plant gets. Planta right now is telling me to water every other week because it’s hot out… but I think I’ll stay with every 3 weeks because they are quite easy to overwater and I know it’ll be fine with some slight underwatering. Especially because it’s not hot indoors. #### Ms.Issy svarade den 2025-06-15 If you don’t go by just the dryness of the soil is there another way to tell when it needs water? I only have a few succulents and one cactus and I go by how dry the substrate is to determine when it’s okay to water. #### fuey svarade den 2025-06-15 It can depend on where you live. I’m in Zone 1, so mine dries out a lot slower most of the time because we have a higher humidity and a lower outside temp most of the time. I know it’s bad, but I water on a loose schedule with mine. I wait maybe 3-4 weeks between watering and I don’t always check the soil😅. If you want a more structured schedule you can check more frequently, and then once it’s dry, wait another few days or a week before watering. You can also get to know your plant by picking it up and figuring out the difference in weight between just being watered vs when it needs it. #### fuey svarade den 2025-06-15 Zone 2\*\* my bad. I don’t live in Alaska lol #### Adrian svarade den 2025-06-15 I would change it to a “custom watering schedule” by going into the plant’s individual settings in the top right corner of the ZZ’s profile. I wouldn’t water it more than every 30 days, and I would check the soil for dryness with a bamboo/barbecue skewer by sticking it all the way down to the bottom of the soil, take it out, and if the soil sticks to it, wait at least 2 days, then check again. If the skewer comes out clean and dry, with nothing sticking to it, it should be safe to water. Some ZZ’s don’t need water for 60-90 days, and really big one for 6 months to a year. I’d start with waiting 30-60 days from the size of your ZZ. The key is to practically neglect it in terms of watering. If you want it to grow faster, place it in the brightest windowsill you’ve got. A south windowsill sounds perfect for it. New leaves will start off green, then gradually turn black as they mature. If you can change it to a custom watering schedule and set it to 30 or 60 days, that’ll help keep you from overwatering. Hope this helps 😊 #### Ms.Issy svarade den 2025-06-15 I live in like zone 6(??), aka, New England. So it probably won’t dry up super quick. I’ll be sure to a keep super close eye on the substrate and be sure to give it extra time to be dry. 🪴 _1 nytt svar i appen_ ### Whit\_Y kommenterade den 2025-06-15 Omg she’s beautiful 😍 be careful to not overwater, ZZ’s store water in their tubers and can go weeks in between waterings ### Phil kommenterade den 2025-06-15 Just a couple of points to add. ZZ plants will survive in low light but like many plants they need bright indirect light to thrive. No direct sun though or maybe some morning sun. And as Adrian has said, change to custom watering in the app but you can also continue checking the soil and using the snooze feature. This will make Planta change to a new water schedule for your plant. I use both ways depending on the plant. ### MicAZ kommenterade den 2025-06-15 I only water mine every 3 weeks maybe and my only thing to add, and maybe it’s just me, but this guy seems to hate being repotted. Just leave him be, lol --- _Planta-communityn (https://getplanta.com). Läsning är öppen för alla. För att posta, kommentera och gilla, skaffa Planta-appen: https://getplanta.com/download_