My Brown Thumb Turns Green: Life Lessons From a ZZ Plant
Let’s be honest, my thumbs have never been particularly “green.” In fact, I’m pretty sure I could kill a cactus in a desert. So, when my well-meaning friend gifted me a houseplant – a supposedly “easy to care for” ZZ plant – I accepted it with the enthusiasm of someone handed a ticking time bomb. I named him Percy (because, you know, perseverance) and figured it was only a matter of time.
My first mistake? Overwatering. I showered Percy with love, attention, and most detrimentally, H2O. I was convinced that if a little water was good, a lot was better. Wrong. Percy started to droop, his leaves turning an alarming shade of yellow.
Frantically, I consulted the internet, that digital oracle of everything, and discovered the error of my ways. I had essentially drowned the poor guy. With a little research (and a lot of guilt), I learned that ZZ plants thrive on neglect. They like their soil dry, their sunlight indirect, and their plant parents to chill out. Who knew?
It dawned on me then that this principle applied to more than just houseplants. Sometimes, we smother the things (and people) we care about with good intentions. We overschedule, overcommit, and overextend ourselves, forgetting that space is essential for growth.
Lesson #2: Embracing the Growth We Don’t See
After the Great Drowning of 2023, Percy went through a rough patch. He stayed stubbornly the same size for months. I despaired, convinced I’d stunted his growth forever.
But then, one day, I noticed something. A new shoot, unfurling from the base of the plant, a vibrant green against the deep emerald of the older leaves. Percy was growing again, just not in the way I expected. He was focusing his energy inward, strengthening his roots before reaching for the sky.