Lucky bamboo botanically know as Dracaena sanderiana, is a house plant popular for years as a symbol of luck and prosperity in Feng Sui named after Henry Frederick Conrad Sander, the well-known German-English gardener. It is commonly known as ribbon plant, friendship bamboo, curly bamboo and Chinese water bamboo. It is also a great plant for decorating your interior.

a) What kind of shape can it grow?

Lucky bamboo can be shaped like other bonsai plants in various shapes by using plant wire and regular trimming. We can give different shapes of spirals, braids, and loops to lucky bamboo

b) How long does it live?

Lucky Bamboo can be grown in both Soil and water, but in water, it has a short lifespan of about 2-3 years. Lucky bamboo grown in well-drained soil has a longer lifespan, where it lives for several years. When transferred to soil, its leaves may shed or turn yellow, but with proper care and fertilization, it will grow new leaves.

c) How fast and tall does it grow?

If we supply proper nutrients to our Lucky bamboo it grows fast. It can attain a height of around 18-20 inches in six months. It is mostly grown indoor, on average it can grow a maximum of 3 feet, but in rare cases, it can grow 4-5 feet high.

d) What temperature is good for lucky bamboo plants?

The suitable temperature for rich bamboo is 60–90°F (15–30°C). They need a moderate household temperature, take care of your bamboo plant during winter; do not place it in cold places such as balconies or windows.

e) Is it good as a house plant?

Like other Dracaenas, Lucky Bamboo is a good house plant. People love to grow it as an indoor plant because it grows both in water and soil and is available in different shapes and sizes. In-house bamboo plants are easy to be taken care of without daily watering when they’re in wicking pots.

f) What people usually used to decorate lucky bamboo?

Bamboo plants grown in water can be decorated with pebbles, rocks, and glass chips. These things can easily enhance the look of your plants. Roots can be covered by these pebbles, but don’t place them too high around the stalks. Wash them every month to prevent building up slime.

g) Does lucky bamboo flower?

The blooming of lucky bamboo is relatively rare. It blooms in its tropical natural habitat, but it won’t flower when placed indoors.

a) Indoor: Where to put it and How much light it needs for indoor

Lucky bamboo does not require high light, but in order to prevent the leaves from turning yellow, it should be placed in a well-ventilated and bright indoor place.

b) Outdoor: Can it be placed with direct sunlight?

Exposure to direct sunlight causes the leaves of Lucky Bamboo to turn yellow, Strong direct sunlight can easily cause the leaf tips to burn.

Grow Lucky Bamboo in soil vs grow in water

How much/often water for a lucky bamboo plant? Does it have over water problem?

When growing lucky bamboo you have both options water and soil, both options have advantages depending upon how much you can care for it. You have to select well-drained soil, less or high fertilization can both harm your plant.

However, growing it in water also has some precautions. Don’t use tap water it has fluoride and other chemicals that can harm your plant.

• When you growing lucky bamboo water, you need to use water your lucky bamboo with distilled or bottled water. Change the water at least once a week to avoid diseases
• Growing in soil, you need a well-drained potting mixture of a third of soil, sand, and peat moss to make sure proper drainage. They need moist soil, so avoid less or overwatering. Too much watering causes the leaves of Lucky Bamboo to turn yellow.
• Long-term lack of water causes the leaves of Lucky Bamboo to turn yellow (dry yellow): the tips or edges of the leaves turn dry and fall off from the bottom, but the new leaves grow normally if proper watering care is done.

a) What kind of pots is good for growing Lucky Bamboo?

• Lucky bamboo does best in a low dish or bowl-shape pot, it requires 1-inch space between the edge of the pot and plant stalks, it allows the roots to spread properly

Grow Lucky Bamboo in water

a) What kind of pots is good for growing?

Lucky bamboo can be grown in planters with a wicking system, easily available nowadays in garden stores. The self-watering bottom part of the pot is used for water storage.

A cotton rope is used that automatically pulls the water to the roots zone according to its requirement. The water reservoir part can last for many days and keep the plant healthy and flourishing.

b) Can I put it in a vase directly, and how long can it survive in a vase?

It is possible to keep your lucky bamboo in a vase directly, in which you add decorative stones and water. Just be sure to provide it with indirect sunlight, not forgetting to clean the vase after 2-3 weeks by changing the water.

Food for lucky bamboo plant

a) What kind of fertilizers or food should I use for caring lucky bamboo?

• A drop of liquid fertilizer, once a month is enough for a lucky bamboo plant grown in water. Liquid fertilizers having equal parts of NPK special for lucky bamboo are available.
• Too much fertilization of lucky bamboo leads to yellowing of leaves caused by excessive fertilizer concentration; leaves turn brown and fall off.
• Solution: Stop fertilizing immediately, and use a lot of washing, it will help to flush the fertilizer.
• Long-term lack of fertilizer in lucky bamboo leads to yellowing of the leaves. The young leaves become pale in color, yellow or light green, while the old leaves are relatively normal or gradually turn from green to yellow.
• Solution: Check the potting soil. If there is dryness, replace the soil, Apply fertilizers frequently, and water properly.

Repotting lucky bamboo in soil

If lucky bamboo is grown with proper care it can gain a height of 3 to 4 feet high and its top became heavy, therefore a large container having a flat base is required to report the lucky bamboo. Before removing it from the pot,

water the plant heavily after placing it in the new pot firmly place the soil around its roots, if necessary place a stake or some support for a few days. Water the newly reported lucky bamboo properly and place it in a brighter area having indirect light.

Where can I get seeds for lucky bamboo?

It is placed indoors as a house plant, when placed indoors, its flowering or seeding is very rare, it only flowers in its natural tropical habitat.

Lucky bamboo is propagated commercially through cuttings and is really grown from seeds, seeds are available through online sources, and its seed won’t remain viable for a long time having a very low germination rate.

a) Propagation

When stalks of your lucky bamboo get too high, its cuttings can be taken for propagation

• Take healthy cuttings from the mother plant
• Each cutting must have one or more leaf joint nodes.
• Place the cuttings in a bowl of distilled water. Place that bowl in a shady area for about 1 to 2 months until the sprouting of roots begins.
• When roots emerged, they can place in a water vase or in a pot having well-drained soil.