Why Is My ZZ Plant Not Growing Straight?

Due to low light conditions and the direction of sunlight, your ZZ plant may not be growing straight. This is typical behavior in ZZ plants growing in indoor places, but it can be rectified by providing more light to the plant.

That said, that plant may also show similar signs if it is overgrown, lacks nutrients, is underwatered, overwatered, or is pot-bound.

So, let's learn more about this issue in the following guide.

Why Is My ZZ Plant Not Growing Straight?

As you know, there can be many reasons why the plant may not grow in a linear position. So, here's a list of these reasons with some insights on each one of them - 

1. Low Light & Direction Of Sunlight

This is the main cause of this issue in your plant. When the plant doesn't grow straight, it's likely because of the direction of sunlight. Although the ZZ plant doesn't need much sunlight, it still needs light for photosynthesis.

When you place this plant away from a light source or keep it in the dark room, the plant will automatically grow in the direction of light. This is why it becomes difficult to guide this plant in a straight upward direction.

2. Underwatered Plant

Again, the ZZ plant doesn't require a lot of water, either. But you can't keep this plant underwatered for too long. If you do, the plant will begin to droop. The leaves and branches will bend from their original position, which will make them grow in a different direction.

Now, if you keep watering this plant irregularly with frequent underwatering episodes or no watering, you will surely see a big difference in how the plant grows in the pot. As I said earlier, it will change the direction of its growth.

3. Overgrown Plant

The ZZ plant is not known for its overgrowth or any such issues, but you can't ignore the possibility. You can expect the plant to grow vigorously in months if it receives enough nutrients and decent conditions.

Moreover, when the weight of the branches becomes unbearable, the plant will slightly lean towards the ground. This is a typical response from the plant, as it tries to balance the load on the entire structure.

However, as you know, it's not something you will get to see in a regular ZZ plant. So, you will have to check whether the plant is growing at a normal speed. If it's growing rapidly, you will have to work on it immediately.

4. Lack Of Nutrients

Now, the fertilizers are not directly related to your ZZ plant not growing straight, but they can affect the way this plant grows in your indoor settings.

When you plant a ZZ plant in a pot, it entirely depends on the nutrients available in the soil. So, if you have never added fertilizers to this plant or added too much in one go, it can impact the plant's growth. With less fertilizer, you will see stunted and irregular growth in the plant.

Similarly, the branches will grow quickly with excess fertilizer and may become a burden on a relatively small plant. Ultimately, it will cause an imbalance in the plant's structure and begin to grow in a different direction.

5. Overwatering

Like underwatering, overwatering can cause several issues in this plant.

The ZZ plant doesn't like to sit in water for long, and it will start showing the symptoms in a few days, if not weeks. And one of those symptoms is a droopy plant.

When there is too much moisture in the plant's container, it will focus more on surviving than growing in a straight upward direction. During this time, the plant will lose the direction of growth.

Even if it survives and does well, you won't see it growing in a straight direction later. It will continue to grow in this new direction unless you take the measures listed in the following section.

How Do I Get My ZZ Plant To Grow Straight

Now, don't expect this plant to grow in an absolute straight position, as it's too optimistic to see such results in the plant. The plant will lean towards either side, depending on the light source you have in the room.

1. Support It With Stakes Or Strings

If the plant is not growing in the right direction or falling over entirely, you can use some stakes or strings to support it. It's an easy and effective way to shape your plant.

So, do give it a try and see how the plant does in the coming weeks. You may remove the stakes after a few weeks once the plant begins to grow in the desired direction.

2. Place It In A Right Direction Of Sunlight

Want to follow a natural process of shaping your ZZ plant?

Then, you can move the plant from its current position to a place where the light source is directly above the planter. It will help grow your plant in an upward direction instead of sideways. This may not be ideal in all cases, but it'd be useful if your ZZ plant leans toward one specific direction.

3. Keep Rotating The Pot Every Few Weeks

This is another useful gardening method that you can follow in this case.

When the plant begins to grow in one direction, and you don't have a place to provide light from above, you can just rotate the plant every few weeks. It will help shape the plant without much effort.

4. Fertilize The Plant

Fertilizing is a good idea to keep your plant growing at a standard rate. It won't make the plant grow in a straight direction, but you should be able to see upward growth after feeding the plant.

5. Repot The Plant If Needed

When you keep growing a plant in the same pot for too long, it can grow out of shape. This generally happens because of the overgrowth in plants and lack of space in the pot. You can easily fix this issue by repotting the plant or transplanting it into a new pot.

Well, these are the things that you can do to fix this growing issue in the plant.

FAQs

Over To You

I hope the above guide helps you understand the reasons and fixes for this issue in the ZZ plant.

If you have any questions, please ask me in the comments below. I will try to resolve them for you. If you enjoyed this guide, share it with your friends and family.