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Happy to be home
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With the arrival of Zamia you can have a lush indoor plant in your home, writes Hema Vijay
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— Photo : S.Thanthoni
Lush and novel: Zamia plant from China in full bloom.
Imagine having the cheering company of a lush indoor plant in your home, without having to watchfully move it outdoors so that it gets its dose of sunlight? Well, it may not be impossible, with the arrival of Zamia in the city.
A variety of palm that goes by the name Zamia ferraica, this plant is a native of China, but is now being grown successfully in our tropical climate too.
Slow growth
A perennial slow growing plant, Zamia’s propagation is by root bulbs.
The plant definitely needs its shade and needs to be kept indoors.
It can survive less shade, but ironically, direct sunlight will kill it .
Expensive, a single plant would cost you Rs.1,000, but you can propagate it into many more at home.
Soil texture
Zamia requires a planter pot of about one to two feet depth. The soil has to be exceedingly loose as this plant needs plenty of aeration.
“So, the soil mixture should be in the ratio of two portions of sawdust, one portion of river sand, half portion of red earth and another half portion of manure,” recommends Navneeth Raghavan, landscape architect.
About 500ml of water once in two days will do. Of course, if you see the plant drying up, pour more water and the plant will bounce back to green health.
Big plus
Since the soil mixture is exceedingly light, you can not only use decorative ceramic pot to grow it in, but also happily lug it all over your house, if you like.
Not a flowering plant, Zamia, like a palm, is long stemmed and has branches with thick oblong, dark green leaves.
Grow about five or more bulbs together to accentuate the effect.
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