Lucky Bamboo
Dracaena sanderiana, better known as Lucky Bamboo is not a bamboo but belongs to the lily family. It grows under low light conditions in the rain forest canopy in Southeast Asia. This makes it an ideal plant for the office, or room with little sun. It is used in the Feng Shui system, as green is a lucky color attracting positive chi. Lucky bamboo is given on special occasions such as the New Year.
Care:
Lucky bamboo needs little care and should be grown in the shade/no direct sun at temperatures between 60-80F. It grows well under fluorescent lights. Keep the plant in at least 2 inches of water and change the water weekly. Use bottled spring (not distilled) or rain water. Tap water may have too many chemicals (salts, chlorine, and fluoride) which can lead to yellowing stem and an eventual slow death.
Feed only when leaves turn a light color. Use fish emulsion or a diluted organic fertilizer.
Keep the plant away from heating vents and air conditioners.
Troubleshooting problems
Brown tips 1. too much fertilizer or other chemicals such as fluoride in the water 2. low humidity
Yellowing leaves: 1. too much direct sun exposure 2. watering with tap water that is softened or fluoridated.
Webbing on the leaves– indicates spider mites. Wash the leaves can help control the problem.
The jel-like substance on the roots is a polyacrylamide, white crystal granules that swell up like a sponge and holds up to 200 times its weight in water. It is not harmful to the roots. In fact, it reduces the need for watering as it slowly releases the absorbed water over an extended period of time. Once all the moisture is gone, the gel shrinks back to its original size and will need to be rehydrated. This polymer will not harm the plant, perhaps save you some watering time. You can leave it or rinse off the slippery gel. Lucky bamboo stalks are often shipped in this polymer to maintain moisture on the roots.
Hi, i got a 3 stem lucky bamboo yesterday. When I got it, it was yellow and sickly. Today, I went to change the water and clean it out. When I did so, i found that it stunk like egg, and 90% of the roots were already off. The rest of the roots are brown and are only about 5mm from the stem. Is my bamboo still alive? Does it still have a chance?
OK Hi there,
I’ve been looking everywhere for help but just I guess my situation is special idk lol.I had bought a lucky bamboo for my mom about 3 years ago.in her care I know it was not reported or.cleaned because she and I did not know how to properly.care for it.then my.mom passed recently and since then 2 stalks have gone mushy and I managed to get most of them out.the other 2 are fine but starting to grow a white.mold on the base so I’m trying.to repot and clean it but the gel and rocks inside have hardened to where I can’t just pull the plants out. Am going to have to resort to breaking the vase is that OK? Am afraid of hurting the plant more but I know it needs helps before the last two stalk perish.and I don’t want that to happen.I appreciate the time. 🙂
Hi i was gifted a vase of Lucky Bamboo Stalks and i transported it from this gel like substance to soil. Soon after 4-5 stalks turned yellow with black spots. So i seperated the yellow stalks and the green healthy ones and 2 of the 4 yellow stalks are alive with green shoots out of the yellow stalk. Then i put the yellow stalks in one vase in JUST purified water and the healthy green ones in JUST purified water. My green ones are growing fine. How do i know when to cut the stalks off of them? My healthy stalks seem to be developing small white spots with a red ring around it. Is it natural or something bad?