How to Take Care of Lucky Bamboo
Caring for a lucky bamboo plant is a relaxing pastime that’s great for reducing stress. It’s believed that keeping lucky bamboo inside houses and business places promotes happiness and prosperity. While it’s not a true bamboo, lucky bamboo looks like one and is an easy-to-care-for indoor houseplant.
Lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) is surprisingly not actually bamboo as its scientific name suggests: It’s part of the Dracaena genus. The lucky bamboo plant is from Southeast Asia and is well-known for its use in Feng Shui for over 5,000 years. In these practices, it is said to represent good luck and happiness, making it an ideal and popular gift in business and personal matters. Another factor that makes lucky bamboo so popular is its ability to be trained into shapes like a swirl, heart, braid and other designs. See the sections below for a more in-depth look at the symbolism of lucky bamboo and how to create different bamboo designs.
LUCKY BAMBOO CARE TIPS
Light
Lucky Bamboo does great in bright light. It’ll tolerate lower light levels just fine but it won’t grow much. Be sure to avoid putting it in direct, hot sun as it’ll burn baby burn. You may need to rotate your plant so it gets light evenly on all sides.
Water
There is a bit of mixed opinion regarding this. Some people never change water, some change it frequently & others every now & then. I fall into the every now & then category as I change the water about every 2 months.
I make sure the water completely covers the roots in both of my arrangements so I add a bit of water as needed, every 2-7 days depending on the temps. If the water is smelling bad, then change it!
LUCKY BAMBOO AND WATERING
If your tap water is hard (containing a lot of minerals), then you’ll need to use distilled or purified water. All dracaenas are prone to tipping so if yours is starting to show a lot of brown tips or a build of white in the vase or dish, don’t use tap water.
I use purified water now for mine (it costs about a dollar a gallon & lasts for at least 2 months) & I’ve already seen a difference.
Container Size
If your Lucky Bamboo arrangement is growing in a low dish or bowl, them make sure it has at least 1″ of space all the way around so the roots can spread out a bit.
My lucky bamboo, which has been growing in the low white dish for 3 years now, is going to need a larger vessel soon as the roots are starting to get crowded. The much smaller spiral stems are in a glass vase proportionate to their height. I only keep about 3″ of water in the vase, just enough to make sure the roots are fully submerged.
Fertilizer
I’ve never fertilized mine, but if you feel the need, there’s 1 called Super Green which is specially formulated for Lucky Bamboo growing in water.5
Pests
Mine has never gotten any. Like all dracaenas, Lucky Bamboo is subject to an infestation of spider mites, especially in the fall &/or winter when the heat comes on. Also, keep your eye open for thrips, scale & mealy bugs.
WHAT NOT TO DO WITH YOUR LUCKY BAMBOO
– Do not use tap water if your water is hard. Your Lucky Bamboo will do much better with distilled or purified water.
-Do not let your Lucky Bamboo dry out – keep the roots covered with water at all times.
– Do not place your Lucky Bamboo in direct sun.
-Do not keep the water levels too high – just covering the roots is fine.
-Do not place your Lucky Bamboo near a heating or cooling vent. Also, keep it away from any cold drafts.
-Do not let dust collect on the leaves because the pores need to breath. Periodically clean the leaves with a brush, damp rag &/or spray off with water.
