Hi,

I am new to this and to house plants so I might need a lot of your help. Basically, I was given this Zanzibar Gem plant, already established and quite tall with its enormous roots containing several bulbs. Because my pots were only medium sized I had to split the roots into two halves (not damaging the bulb itself). When I was potting them, the roots still didn't fit in properly so I kind of forced them in and then covered it with soil. Do you think the plant will die? And if so how I could I rescue it? Shall I just cut off leafs and plant the leafs alone without roots?

Please help someone.

PS: For my defence, I didn't know the name of the plant so I couldn't google what to do I had to research what it was called.

Hi Tdano1, Welcome to All Things Plants!

I was not familiar with a plant by the name of Zanzibar Gem so I googled and I see that it is the plant many know by the common name of "ZZ Plant" due to the zig zag foliage: ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)

I live in Florida where the ZZ plant is grown outdoors as a landscape shrub but it is a very hardy plant and if it gets the proper light and moisture, it should do well for you as an indoor plant. The ZZ plant is drought tolerant so you don't want to keep the soil too wet or soggy ... or the roots and bulbs will rot. Cutting through those thick roots to separate your plant into two or more plants shouldn't do any harm at all ... that is one way of propagating the ZZ, by dividing the rootball into separate sections. And, yes, you can also propagate the plant by leaf cuttings. I stuck leaves in a vase of water one time and sat the vase in my kitchen, replacing the water about once a week so it didn't go stagnant; eventually I noticed bulbs and roots had formed at the base of the stems.

You can read more information about the plant at these sites:
http://tropicalplantrentals.co...
http://www.yates.com.au/garden...
http://www.vanlier.co.nz/shop/...

You might like to view this conversation from members here about their ZZ Plants: The thread "my first zz plant" in Philodendrons, Elephant Ears, and Other Aroids forum

Disturbing roots when replanting or dividing is always dicey unless you are experienced. It is very easy to damage delicate root hairs when disturbing roots. Using proper pot size and potting mixes is also important and often misunderstood.

ZZ Plants are very drought resistant and thrive when kept very potbound. Inadvertent over watering is one of the few things they don't tolerate. Using a pot that is too large and filled with excess soil that is too dense often leads to root rot. Now that you have divided and repotted be very careful not to over water.

It's hard to have a specific opinion about your particular plants without pics. Without pics, it's a hypothetical discussion.

They are succulents and should be watered as such