I recently ordered a nursery zz plant online and I love it! It came in on Tuesday of last week, so I've had it for one week as of now. I know some of it's leaves got damaged during the delivery since some of the leaves have marks and are squished, but almost all of it's leaves have some level of brown on the tips.

I've been misting the leaves every morning for a few days but don't see a lot of improvement yet. I have it placed about two yards away from an east facing window. Should I be misting the leaves? Is it getting too much light and burning the tips?

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about those brown tips unless they seem to be getting worse. Most likely it was caused by some minor issue with the watering or other stress in the plant's past life. Misting won't improve anything. ZZ plants grow very slowly, so you might have to wait a long time for new growth. So long as the new growth looks good, you should be on the right track.

Brown tips are typical for lots of plants, probably minor physical damage or chlorine from your tap. This plant does not benefit from misting, but you should wash off the leaves or just wipe them off to prevent dust buildup. If you water more than you pay your rent, it's too much.

Forget the misting and pay close attention to the watering. Does the pot it is growing in have a drain hole?

I still have it in the nursery planter it came in, but I will have to drill a hole in the pot once I transfer it.

ignova said:Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about those brown tips unless they seem to be getting worse. Most likely it was caused by some minor issue with the watering or other stress in the plant's past life. Misting won't improve anything. ZZ plants grow very slowly, so you might have to wait a long time for new growth. So long as the new growth looks good, you should be on the right track.

Thank you! It seems like everyone agrees that misting won't help so I'll go ahead and stop. Unfortunately, I do think the brown spot in the second picture is getting bigger I did water it last Thursday with spring water. I'm planning on watering it again in a few weeks with distilled water.

GraceHazel said:Brown tips are typical for lots of plants, probably minor physical damage or chlorine from your tap. This plant does not benefit from misting, but you should wash off the leaves or just wipe them off to prevent dust buildup. If you water more than you pay your rent, it's too much.

Thanks for the tip! I didn't think about dealing with dust, so I'll make sure to get on a schedule to wipe the leaves off regularly. I saw online to water between 2 and 3 weeks, but if I should water it less then I will.

The way the nursery pot is sitting inside the other pot is fine for a while. That will allow you to water thoroughly when dry by removing the inner pot to take it to the sink or shower. If shower, you can keep it clean by giving it a shower to water. When the excess water is finished dripping out, you can put it back in the decorative pot. ZZ plants grow a tuber (potato) under the soil and as it expands, more room may be needed. If the root ball slides out of the pot intact, you can check easily.