How to Care for Lucky Bamboo

How to care for lucky bamboo? — One of today’s most popular feng shui accessories is lucky bamboo, because bamboo, which is strong, resilient, and fast-growing, symbolizes luck and success.

Lucky bamboo is an easy going plant that thrives with just a little tender loving care. It can be grown hydroponically in water or in the soil in a pot or container.

For best results with your lucky bamboo, follow these 6 lucky bamboo plant care tips.

Place lucky bamboo in a location where it will get moderate, indirect light. Don’t put it in direct light. In the wild, lucky bamboo grows on the floor of the rainforest in the shade of larger trees and plants so it is not a light lover. Also, do not place lucky bamboo directly in front of an air conditioning or heat vent.

Keep lucky bamboo plants out of the reach of pets who may chew on its stalks. This is for the good of the plants and the pet. Lucky bamboo is not true bamboo but a member of the lily family (dracaena sanderia) and can be poisonous to pets.

If you grow your lucky bamboo in water, use filtFered water or rainwater rather than water from the tap, which may contain chemicals like fluoride and chlorine. If you must use tap water, put it in a container and let it sit out for at least 24 hours so that the chemicals can dissipate before you put the bamboo in it. Add water periodically as the water level falls, and change the water every week.

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Water your soil-growing lucky bamboo plants with filtered water, rainwater or tap water that has been allowed to stand for at least 24 hours. Another alternative, if you have a fish tank, is to water lucky bamboo with used water from the tank when you change it. Keep lucky bamboo’s soil moist but not soaking wet. Do not let it dry out completely.

Lucky bamboo plants generally don’t need much in the way of plant food or additional nutrients, but it will appreciate an occasional feeding of aquarium plant food, African violet food, or a heavily diluted dose of a general plant food like Miracle-Gro. Every couple of months maybe often enough to feed it.

If your lucky bamboo turns yellow it may be getting too much light or too much fertilizer; if the edges of the leaves begin to turn brown, there may be fluoride in the water or the air may be too dry; and if the stalks turn soft and brown, the roots are probably rotting, perhaps from overwatering or overfeeding.

For a yellowing lucky bamboo plant, try moving it to a location with less light; for browning leaves, switch to filtered water if you have been using tap water and mist the leaves with water if you think the air is too dry; and for soft brown stems, cut off the still-healthy tops of the stalks and regrow them (discard the bottoms).