The best way to water your Zanzibar gem is to water the soil directly with rainwater or distilled water rather than tap water. Tap water often contains particles that can harm this species. While other plant species may respond well to overhead watering, this is not the case for the Zanzibar gem. In fact, overhead watering can be quite detrimental to this plant as it drastically increases the odds that a moisture-related disease, such as rot, will arise. To avoid this complication, use a watering can, a cup, or a garden hose to pour water directly onto the soil. Continue applying water slowly until the entire soil area has become moist. Once the soil is entirely moist, you should stop watering right away, as watering this plant too much is one of the main ways to cause its decline. If there is a tray, then you can water from the bottom by adding some water to the bottom of the tray. Usually after 30 minutes - 1 hour, the soil will gradually absorb the water and become moist. When the surface of the soil is found to be moist, it indicates that the soil is completely moist and the watering is finished. After that, pour off the excess water from the tray to avoid overwatering.

Resolving the issue of underwatering your Zanzibar gem is somewhat straightforward. Typically, all you will need to do is begin giving this plant water on a more regular basis, along with pruning any leaves or stems that have died because of a lack of water. After a while, you’re Zanzibar gem should return to full health. Fixing overwatering can be a bit more difficult. Your first step should be to reduce your watering schedule. Meanwhile, make sure that the place where you grow your Zanzibar gem has good ventilation and proper light conditions. You should also check your soil’s drainage and correct it as needed to ensure that excess water does not have the chance to collect near your plant’s roots. When overwatering leads to disease, you’ll also need to treat that disease. Often, this means removing the parts of the plant that have been affected by the disease. Overwatering will make the plant die gradually, so please be very cautious when watering your Zanzibar gem.

There are two main ways to decide when to water your Zanzibar gem. The first way is to monitor the moisture of the soil. Observe the soil around your Zanzibar gem and wait until the surface has become completely dry. Once that has occurred, it is permissible to add water to this plant. The second way is to set a regular watering schedule for your Zanzibar gem. If you choose this route, you should plan to water this plant about once every two weeks. The frequency may change depending on the growth stage of your plant, the weather and the location. It's suggested testing the moisture of the soil every time before watering rather than simply following the schedule.

Provide enough water to soak the soil entirely each time you water Zanzibar gem. Potted Zanzibar gem is relatively easy to judge when you have given enough water, all you need to do is water until you see excess water draining from the bottom of the container. Providing enough water for Zanzibar gem growing in the ground is a bit more difficult to judge. In those cases, just make sure to soak the soil thoroughly during each watering before allowing it to dry completely once again. In some circumstances, rainfall is enough for your Zanzibar gem to stay healthy and you don't need to water it over a long period of time.

As is true with nearly any plant, it’s possible to overwater and underwater your Zanzibar gem. As such, you should know the signs of overwatering and underwatering in advance to make sure that you can correct your watering practices before it is too late. Of the two issues, overwatering is a more prevalent concern and is more likely to be a problem for the Zanzibar gem. Overwatering will likely result in discoloration and deformation in the leaves and stems of this plant. It may also lead to moisture-related diseases such as root rot or black spots. By contrast, an underwatered Zanzibar gem may not contract a disease. Instead, it’s more likely to have dry, drooping leaves or brown leaf margins. Underwatered Zanzibar gem may also drop many of their leaves to the ground.

The frequency of your watering for the Zanzibar gem should change depending on the season. For example, your Zanzibar gem will likely have higher water needs during the hotter summer months than it will during the cold winter months. As mentioned, you should water your Zanzibar gem about once every two weeks, or when the soil has become completely dry, during most of the growing season. When winter arrives, your Zanzibar gem will need much less water. Often, it will survive the winter with just one watering every month. Giving too much water during winter is another way to increase the odds that your Zanzibar gem will contract a disease.

For most of one Zanzibar gem’s life, its water needs will remain the same. However, there are some differences in how you should water this plant while it is very young. If you have a very young plant that has yet to establish itself, or you are growing this plant from a seed that you wish to germinate, you’ll need to give more water than usual. During establishment, most plants need additional moisture to help their roots establish themselves. For a very young Zanzibar gem, you can water it more frequently. Once the plant has become established, you can use the regular watering frequency of about once every two weeks during the growing season.

Your watering habits for the Zanzibar gem should take into account whether or not your plant grows indoors or outdoors. In some instances, Zanzibar gem that grows outdoors may not need any supplemental water at all, as it will be able to survive on rainwater alone. However, during long periods of no rain, it’s sensible to water an outdoor Zanzibar gem about once per month. Zanzibar gem that grow indoors won’t have access to naturally falling rainwater and will instead rely entirely on your watering practices. In those instances, you should follow the regular watering guidelines for this plant, which include watering about once every two weeks during the growing season and about once per month in winter. If you want to know better about watering your Zanzibar gem, please try our app.

Pruning your Zanzibar gem is a fairly simple process. First, you will need a reliable set of hand pruners or hedge trimmers. You may use a clean pair of sharp scissors if you don’t have pruners or garden shears on hand. It’s important to always clean your gardening tools before and after using them to prevent the possibility of spreading disease or infection to other plants. To prune your Zanzibar gem simply allow your plant to go dormant over the Winter. Some time between late winter and early spring – or when new growth starts to appear – take your clean pruners or trimmers and cut away any dying, damaged, yellow or declining foliage. Repeat this process until you reach the base of the plant or until there are no dead pieces left to cut. When pruning, be careful not to damage the new growth that may be emerging near the base of your plant. These parts cannot be restored and pruning can increase the ventilation of the plants and facilitate their growth. Any pruning that is done to this plant should be cut straight across the blades or stems. No angled cuts are required. Diseased leaf blade foliage can be removed as it appears. This could be done anytime when your Zanzibar gem is growing.

Once you’ve pruned your plant, you should dispose of the stems and leaves either by composting the healthy ones or throwing out the diseased parts. You can also fertilize just before or after pruning, which gives Zanzibar gem a little vitamin boost that can provide it the nutrients needed to better protect itself from any nearby pathogens or diseases. Do not water the Zanzibar gem immediately after pruning as this can lead to fungal infestation of the plants through the wounds. You don’t need much after care when you’re done pruning. It might benefit from light watering and some liquid plant food to encourage new growth.

Early spring and late winter are the best times to prune your Zanzibar gem on a large scale. If you want to control the size of your Zanzibar gem, you can prune them as you wish, but be careful not to prune more than a third of the size of the plant. Yellow and diseased leaves may appear during the summer months when the Zanzibar gem is growing vigorously and these types of leaves need to be pruned back immediately. These parts of the Zanzibar gem cannot be restored and pruning increases the ventilation of the plant and facilitates its growth.

Strategic pruning is usually done at different times of the year or during certain stages of growth depending on the plant. However, knowing when to prune your Zanzibar gem depends on where you live and how established your plant is. For example, if your Zanzibar gem is a new resident, it’s a good idea to wait until the plant starts to grow back before you start pruning. On the other hand, if your plant is already established, you will want to prune the dry or dead parts in plant before new leafy growth appears in early spring or late winter. This is the time of year when plants are dormant and pruning causes the least damage to them. This is also the best time of year to do more extensive pruning. It’s important to note that if Zanzibar gem is pruned too late in the season, it can leave new growth at risk for damage or disease. However, if your Zanzibar gem is indoors this is not a problem and you can prune at any time. Since this can affect the long-term health and appearance of your plant, it’s important to keep this in mind when deciding when and how to prune. As your Zanzibar gem grows larger over time, you can trim it as needed after annual pruning. Dead, damaged, or diseased leaf blade foliage can be removed as it appears. This could be done anytime when your Zanzibar gem is growing.

Zanzibar gem typically needs full, indirect sunlight in order to thrive indoors. This means that the plant should be exposed to bright sunlight that doesn’t hit it directly from a window or another light source, like a grow light. You can easily protect it from direct sunlight by placing a sheer curtain between your Zanzibar gem and the window, or by placing it behind a part of the window with a dark screen.

If this is your first time bringing your Zanzibar gem home, then it might be a good idea to try to ease it into the sunlight it needs, rather than place it in bright, indirect light right away. Over the course of two weeks or so, you can slowly move your plant into the sunlight to avoid shock or burning of the leaves from sudden intense light exposure. By easing it into the light, your Zanzibar gem is much more likely to adapt to your home environment well.

Zanzibar gem is one that can easily sunburn with too much sunlight. In the wild, these plants only receive mild, dappled light, filtered down from tree canopies. While they need more light than that to grow in our homes, too much can certainly cause issues. If your Zanzibar gem is getting too much light, you’ll notice that the foliage begins to look bleached or washed out, the tips of leaves may turn yellow or brown and crispy, and it may even grow too quickly to support itself.

Sunburn for plants is much less severe than sunburn for people. While it may look unsightly, crispy, burnt leaves can be removed if they’re too far damaged to recover, or over half of the leaf is damaged. However, you can also try trimming back the leaves just to remove any sunburn damage in an effort to save them, if there’s not too much discoloration. Move your Zanzibar gem away from its light source to avoid future light damage.

While some plants may be ready to face the sweltering sun straight out of the ground, Zanzibar gem needs some time to build itself up enough to tolerate bright light. Propagated cuttings should receive only moderate indirect light, while new leaves during the growing season should be shielded a bit as well. The tender new leaves are more prone to sunburn than any other part of the plant.

Fortunately, plants can communicate in their own language to convey whether they have adequate sunlight or not. Like most plants, your Zanzibar gem will tell you if it isn’t getting enough sunlight. The most visible sign is when your plant becomes particularly dark, or there is no new growth on the plant from one season to the next. You’ll also notice that leaves that do grow in may remain smaller than others, since there isn’t enough light to photosynthesize to support large new leaves.

Depending on how bright the sunlight is that your Zanzibar gem gets, the number of hours in a day may vary. If you have your plant in bright, indirect light, then there’s no need to try to restrict or increase the amount of time your plant gets this light each day. However, if light is less bright or further away from your Zanzibar gem, then you can try to aim for at least eight hours of full light per day.

For this tropical plant to thrive, you’ll want to keep them between 75℉ and 90℉ (25-32℃). Each species can handle temperatures outside of this range, but keeping it within several degrees of these limits will ensure they grow to their maximum potential. As for its extreme temperature limits, any environment below 50℉ (10℃) or above 95℉ (35℃) will begin to hinder its growth and cause various aberrations to its leaves and stems. This is especially true with low temperatures; even a light frost can cause your tropical plants to perish. Cellular death can begin to happen at a rapid pace, with some species dying in as little as 12 to 24 hours.

While Zanzibar gem doesn’t require any changes in temperature to enter different growing phases, it is important to stay consistent. Wild temperature fluctuations can slow down its growth regardless of its current phase, so it's always better to keep them in a controlled environment. That optimal temperature range of 75℉ and 90℉ (25-32℃) is vital to maintain, especially staying above the lower limit. Going above 90℉(32℃) isn’t ideal, but as tropical plant it won’t suffer too much. On the other hand, going below 50℉ (10℃) (and especially 40℉/5℃) will begin to directly damage this heat-loving plant species.

Zanzibar gem does not need different temperatures for different growing seasons. The most important step in seasonal care is to keep the environment within the optimal temperature range. That's why it's always best to keep this plant indoors. That way, you can control the temperature no matter what the climate is like outside. Light is also important for tropical species, with all of these plants preferring a partial side level of sun exposure. This means any light they receive needs to be dappled or filtered, with bright but indirect light being the best option when growing your plants indoors. Too much direct sunlight can negatively affect your plant’s leaves, reducing its growth potential.

Tip #1: Don’t Leave Your Plant Near Windows in Colder Months If you want to make sure your plant isn’t exposed to colder temperatures, you may want to keep them away from windows. In colder months like late fall and winter, even the smallest draft can leak cold air into your home through cracks in your windows. While this air usually dissipates and warms up as it travels throughout your home, any plants placed in close proximity to the window will be affected. Move your tropical plants into an area where they will still get bright but indirect light, while making sure they won’t be affected by potential drafts. Tip #2: If You Find Dry Patches, Your Plant May Be Getting Too Much Sunlight or Heat You may notice the leaves become white or even scorched on a sunny day. These discolorations and unusual markings usually indicate that a plant is getting too much heat or sunlight, and it may be dehydrated. Excess light and heat will dry out the soil, stopping plants from getting the moisture they need to support their cellular structure. It also slows down or stops the process of photosynthesis, further hindering growth. If ignored for too long, these dry spots can spread and eventually result in the death of your plants. Tip #3: Avoid Frost at All Costs Colder temperatures and frost can damage your plants by causing ice crystals or disrupt normal physiological activity. This makes it nearly impossible for water to move freely throughout plant tissue, creating a deficit of moisture in their stems and leaves. You can tell a plant has been damaged by frost if it begins to suffer from hydrosis (it will appear as though it's soaked with water.) If the problem persists, your plants may begin shriveling and turning a dark brown or black hue. After that, the plant will almost certainly die.

The best way to maintain the right temperature range for Zanzibar gem is by keeping an eye on both the climate and humidity. You’ll want to try to keep each species in a room where you have access to climate control, keeping the heat in the temperature range best mimics its natural habitat. The humidity levels will also have a direct effect on temperature, so it's important to monitor these as well. You can artificially raise the humidity of your growing space by using a humidifier or lightly misting the leaves with water. If you intend to grow this species outside, you may find it difficult to maintain the right balance of temperature and humidity. If temperatures begin to drop or the air becomes too dry, your best option is to find room within your home and move your plant inside. An indoor growing space will allow you to control the climate more closely, helping your plant reach its full potential.

All plants rely on soil nutrients to facilitate their growth, and the Zanzibar gem is no exception. However, it is not always a guarantee that the soil in which your plants grow will have all of the nutrients required. Fertilization and soil amendments help ensure that the plants in your garden not only have the basic nutrients they need but also that they get the nutrients that are specifically necessary to them. Zanzibar gem needs fertilizer to ensure that its roots and stems continue to develop in a healthy way throughout the growing season. Fertilization will also help a Zanzibar gem a set of leaves that looks fantastic, which is especially important for this plant since its foliage is its main point of ornamental appeal.

A Zanzibar gem will need the greatest amount of fertilizer during the seasons in which it is actively growing. This active growth phase typically spans most of the months that make up spring, summer, and early fall. Once winter ends, you should plan to feed your Zanzibar gem about once every two to four weeks. Continue feeding at this rate until the fall months arrive. Once fall arrives, you can reduce your fertilization rate, reducing the amount of fertilizer you give gradually until you cease feedings entirely in anticipation of winter, when the Zanzibar gem will have far less active growth.

Throughout most of the year, including spring, summer, and most of the fall, you should continue feeding your Zanzibar gem regularly. The only exception to this is if you notice that your Zanzibar gem has received too much fertilizer or if you have managed to fertilize your Zanzibar gem incorrectly, causing fertilizer burn or some other issue that you'll need to remedy before returning to a regular feeding schedule. The only time of year when you should not fertilize a Zanzibar gem is during winter. If you grow this plant indoors in an area where the winters are cold, it will enter a dormant phase during the winter. Feeding this plant during its dormant phase is not only unnecessary and unhelpful to this plant's growth, but it is also very likely to cause fertilizer burn.

The fertilizer for a Zanzibar gem has a specific blend of nutrients, each of which is present in relatively low amounts. An ideal fertilizer will have an N-P-K ratio of 3-1-2. However, a general-purpose fertilizer that has an even blend of nutrients can work well in some cases. Still, even when using a balanced fertilizer, the ratio number representing the volume of each nutrient should be at 10 or lower. The fertilizer you use can be either granular or liquid based. If you choose to use a liquid-based fertilizer, it is often best to dilute the strength by half. While there is not much downside to granular fertilizer, it is often most sensible to use liquid fertilizer, especially if you feed your Zanzibar gem while you supply water.

The fertilizer that you purchase for your Zanzibar gem will likely come with application instructions that you should follow in most cases. However, for a Zanzibar gem, you should always fertilize just before or while you are watering the soil, as this will prevent the fertilizer from burning the plant's roots. If you use a slow-release granular fertilizer, you should sprinkle it on the soil and then provide water immediately after. If you use a liquid-based fertilizer, you should dilute it with water, apply it to the soil, then supply a bit more water. Diluting your fertilizer by at least half is especially important in spring and fall when the plant's growth is ramping up and decelerating, respectively.

Since it is advisable to fertilize your Zanzibar gem every few weeks throughout the growing season, overfertilization is not often an issue. However, it remains possible for this to occur. If you overfertilize your Zanzibar gem, you may notice accumulations of excess fertilizer on the soil’s surface and foliage discoloration. Fertilizer burn is the most common issue you should worry about when feeding a Zanzibar gem. This issue occurs when you overfertilize, fail to dilute your fertilizer, or when don’t water during and after fertilization. In any of those cases, the fertilizer can draw moisture out of your plant’s roots, causing it to dry out. Often, fertilizer burn will manifest with browning and yellowing of this plant’s leaves.