Lucky Bamboo
Lucky bamboo has seen an increase in popularity as a houseplant as more people become interested in and learn about Asian culture and spirituality. In Feng Shui, lucky bamboo is seen as a lucky plant incorporating all five natural elements in a single plant.
Lucky bamboo is not actually a bamboo at all. It is a dracaena sanderiana, also known as a ribbon plant. It grows as a bunch of leaves atop a slender stem.
It is usually grown in a grouping of a few stalks. The number of stalks grouped together focuses the good luck or good fortune on a particular area of your life.
Almost all lucky bamboo is sold growing in small pots filled with pebbles and water. Lucky bamboo will grow this way, but the water must be changed every 1 to 2 weeks to keep it fresh and to keep the algae from growing. Lucky bamboo is sensitive to the chlorine and fluorine in tap water. If using tap water, you should let the water sit in an open container for 24 hours to let the chlorine and fluorine dissipate.
This fresh water should have only a drop of fertilizer, like aquarium plant food or african violet food added. Lucky bamboo needs little fertilizer and it is easy to burn the plant if too much fertilizer is used. If the plant turns yellow, change the water immediately and do not fertilize for 1 or 2 months. Yellow stalks should be removed from the grouping to keep the problem from spreading to the other stalks.
Using only small amounts of fertilizer will also have the benefit of keeping the growth slow so that your plant will remain approximately the same size for longer.
While it is sold growing in water, lucky bamboo prefers to grow in soil. The soil should be well drained. The pot should have holes in the bottom so that the excess water can drain out. Then lucky bamboo can be watered like any other dracaena. Keep the soil uniformly moist but not soggy. Lucky bamboo grown in soil needs to be fertilized only every 4 to 6 months.
Lucky bamboo prefers the bright indirect light it would have found on the forest floor, it’s natural habitat. Dracaena sanderiana will also tolerate low light levels. If moved to a room with moderate light for 2 days a week, it will even grow in a room with no windows.
Dracaena sanderiana prefers growing in temperatures of 60oF to 80oF.
The stems of the houseplant you bought have likely been treated and will not grow any taller. They will grow healthy leaves off the top that may, in time, develop stalks of their own. You can remove this new stalk from the plant by cutting right below a joint, treat it with rooting hormone and put it in water to start a new plant. New leaves will sprout from where the stalk was cut off.
A healthy lucky bamboo plant will add elegance to your room and, according to Feng Shui principles, give a boost to the good energy or chi.
