Growing Lucky Bamboo
This indoor plant may look like bamboo, but it's actually a Dracaena (D. sanderiana, to be exact). You've probably seen it growing in water, sometimes with curled stems or in intricate arrangements, or in Chinese shops and homes, where lucky bamboo is aptly named as it's considered a cultural symbol of good fortune and health. If you want to attract abundance into your life, or simply like the idea of a no-fuss houseplant that needs only water to survive, this is your plant! Here's how to take care of lucky bamboo, whether you grow it in water or in soil.
Looking for an easy houseplant that can even be grown in water? Or have you received what looks like a little bamboo plant as a gift?
Lucky bamboo is one of the most popular houseplants worldwide, and for good reason. You’ll love growing this undemanding species in your own home.
How To Care For A Small Lucky Bamboo Plant At Home!
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The first thing you need to know about lucky bamboo is that, despite its common name, this plant isn’t actually a member of the bamboo subfamily (Bambusoideae).
It instead belongs to the genus Dracaena, which is part of the asparagus family Asparagaceae. And that’s a good thing, because actual bamboo would be challenging to grow indoors. Plus, it gets huge!
Lucky Bamboo Care: Growing Lucky Bamboo Indoors
It’s easy to see where the confusion arose. Like real bamboo, lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) sports segmented green stems and a tuft of leaves near the top. A single stem on this shrubby plant can grow to up to 4 feet in length.
The lucky bamboo you’ll find for sale in your local plant store usually consists of one or multiple sections of stem. These are rooted at the bottom in water or soil.
While the tops are flat at first where the cut was made, the stem will quickly sprout new “heads” and continue growing, forming a new plant. Sometimes, a big bouquet of lucky bamboo stems is tied together in a gift arrangement.
Lucky Bamboo Guide: How To Grow & Care For “dracaena Sanderiana”
The spiraled lucky bamboo stems you’ll see for sale didn’t come about naturally. Instead, growers use an ingenious method based on the fact that plants will naturally grow towards the brightest light source.
They put the stems on their sides and then gradually rotate them to manipulate their growth direction, allowing them to create curls, braids, and twisted arrangements.
It looks great, but remember you’ll have to keep twisting the stems yourself after purchase, since new growth won’t curl by itself.
How Does Lucky Bamboo Grow With Just Water?
Did you know? Lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) is often confused with another, similar species called Dracaena braunii. Even some sales listings get it wrong, and a few scientific databases list the two as synonyms when they’re actually separate species! Unlike D. sanderiana, D. braunii isn’t all that commonly seen in horticulture.
Although the “bamboo” name and the fact that it’s extensively grown in China seem to suggest that this is where this species is from, lucky bamboo is actually naturally found in Central Africa.
In countries like Angola, Cameroon, and Congo, Dracaena sanderiana can be found growing wild in what is called the wet tropical biome—basically rainforests. Here, the species forms part of the undergrowth.
Lucky Bamboo Care: A No Fuss Houseplant That Grows In Water
Did you know? I occasionally see lucky bamboo sold for use as an aquarium plant. It looks quite nice in fish tanks, but unfortunately, it’s not made to be fully submerged for extended periods of time. Eventually, the plants always rot, which can cause water quality issues.
Dracaena sanderiana was first discovered by Western botanists during an expedition by Johannes M. Braun in Cameroon, which was then a German colony. He collected various Dracaena specimens, including one that would later be named after him (the aforementioned Dracaena braunii, which is often confused with lucky bamboo).
Braun sold some cuttings of one species to Henry Frederick Conrad Sander, a renowned German botanist living in England. These were the plants that would later become known as Dracaena sanderiana (or true lucky bamboo). They’ve been a staple in horticulture ever since, especially in China.
Transplanting A Lucky Bamboo
The reason that lucky bamboo became so popular in China in particular is probably because bamboo itself has been a symbol of virtue and traditional Chinese values for thousands of years (much like another favorite houseplant, Pachira aquatica—also known as the money tree).
Since bamboo is difficult to grow indoors and the climate in much of the country is actually perfect for Dracaena, it’s not a surprise that lucky bamboo became the go-to replacement!
Lucky bamboo is a symbol in Feng Shui, representing wood with its stems and fire with the red ribbon that often ties arrangements together. Additionally, different amounts of stalks in an arrangement carry different meanings. According to most sources, it goes a little like this:
Image Of Lucky Bamboo Shoots Dracaena Sanderiana Growing In Black Cauldron Pot Against Mirror In Luxury Black Marble Bathroom Japanese Zen House Plant And Feng Shui Bamboo Indoors For Good Luck Happiness
You won’t see Chinese folks gifting arrangements of four stems: the number is considered an omen of bad luck, as its pronunciation is similar to the Cantonese word for “death.” Lucky bamboo sells particularly well around Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year), which typically takes place in late January or early February.
Did you know? Shipments of lucky bamboo from China to the houseplant export hub of The Netherlands have been associated with the accidental introduction of invasive mosquito species in northern Europe.
This can be a problem, because Asian tiger mosquito and Asian bush mosquito are possible carriers of diseases like West Nile virus and dengue fever. I hope nurseries are aware of this risk, because invasive disease-carrying mosquitoes are a growing problem in the US as well.
Bamboo Plant Care
As with most houseplants, selective breeding and spontaneous mutations have led to a couple of different varieties of lucky bamboo. Originally, there was a green version and a single variegated one.
The most striking differences in lucky bamboo plants aren’t the different types of variegation, though. It’s all in how an arrangement is presented!
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You can get a single curled stem, straight stalks, braided sets, twisted groups, pyramid shapes, Christmas tree-like towers and even hearts. Some will be grown in soil, but most are maintained in water.
How To Make Lucky Bamboo Grow More Branches
As discussed, lucky bamboo isn’t a very demanding houseplant at all. In terms of light, because it naturally forms part of the rainforest undergrowth, it doesn’t need much. Bright indirect light, like close to a north-facing windowsill, is absolutely fine. Artificial light works as well.
In terms of temperature, the species is a bit more specific. It doesn’t mind intense heat as long as it’s not being scorched by the sun, but it doesn’t respond quite as well to cold.
Yours will likely begin to struggle if temperatures drop below 50°F. Frost will kill it outright so it’s not a plant to leave outside in colder regions. As a rule of thumb, if you feel comfortable in your home, then your lucky bamboo likely does as well.
Lucky Bamboo Care 101: This Routine Is About As Easy As It Gets
If you’re growing your lucky bamboo in water, then this section obviously doesn’t apply. You can head to my article on growing houseplants in water instead if you’d like to learn more about how to keep your plant happy in the long run.
If your plant is in soil, then don’t worry either. Dracaenas are known for being quite forgiving when it comes to soil moisture! They don’t tend to be the quickest growers and their fleshy stems store water well, so it’s usually best to take it relatively easy with the watering can.
In winter, when plants use much less water, I leave them alone even longer. Sometimes I don’t water for up to a month!
Lucky Bamboo Plant Growing Tips
Despite being a tropical rainforest plant that naturally grows in areas where the humidity will consistently be at 90 percent or up, lucky bamboo isn’t actually all too fussy about air moisture. Unless your home is very dry (consistently under 30 to 40 percent), there’s no need to pay extra attention to it in this department.
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Again, if you’re growing your lucky bamboo in water, you can feel free to skip this section. Can you see why I love soil-less grow methods? So much less to keep in mind for your plant’s health.
If you’re growing in soil, remember that drainage is an important factor for houseplants like Dracaena. They don’t like wet feet, and a soil type that retains water for too long can lead to root rot or even deadly stem rot in the long run!
Costa Farms Live Indoor 10in. Tall Green Lucky Bamboo; Low, Indirect Light Plant In 1in. Tube, 10 Pack
Luckily, creating a basic soil mixture that allows excess water to escape is not difficult or expensive. All you need is a quality houseplant potting soil and some perlite. Mix 1 part perlite with 2 parts soil and you’ve got a perfect lucky bamboo planting medium.
In terms of planters, you can feel free to go with whatever type you like, though keep in mind that terracotta dries a bit quicker than plastic. Just make sure any planter you use has a drainage hole in the bottom.
Although lucky bamboo doesn’t need much to thrive, it will appreciate some fertilizer from time to time to prevent yellowing leaves and slow growth.
How To Care For Lucky Bamboo: 5 Care Tips For Lucky Bamboo
For plants growing in water, you can buy special hydroponic lucky bamboo plant fertilizers. Use these according to the instructions on the bottle.
For Dracaenas growing in soil,
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