Find Your Hi there, my son brought home a bamboo shoot; how to I plant this, in water or in dirt and do you have any other information that might be helpful to myself; this is my first bamboo plant; thank you for your help Frances J. Bradley
How Do You Pot Lucky Bamboo
May 14, 2007 by
Frances,
Lucky bamboo can be potted in water or soil.
Plant by water method. Place in a container about 2″ greater than the stalk grouping size (lucky bamboo likes to be crowded. Place rocks or stones in the bottom of the container, then place stalks and fill with distilled water. If you must use distilled water let it sit for 24hrs before using.
Plant by soil method. Use rocks or crockery pieces in the bottom of container. Make sure container has ample drainage holes. Use a fast-draining soil mixture — soil that does not drain well will cause root rot.
Frances,
Make sure that you place your lucky bamboo out of direct sunlight as it will scorch the leaves. They prefer bright indirect light but will also do fine in low light conditions. Jamie’s instructions for planting in water are fine and it is the most common method since it’s so easy.
Lucky bamboo doesn’t require much in the way of plant food so bottled water is better than distilled. This is because tap and bottled water still have some nutrients and minerals in them but distilled has absolutely nothing in it except water.
Fluoride and chlorine are both toxic to lucky bamboo. If you let tap water sit for 24 hours like Jamie says, the chlorine will dissipate but fluride will not. If your tap water is fluoridated, you definitely need to use bottled water.
Enjoy your lucky bamboo!
Thank you. That was very helpful.
My lucky bamboo are soo tall, can I cut them down without harming them?
Kelly,
Yes you can cut it, lucky bamboo is a hardy plant. Start trimming from the bottom of the plant and work your way towards the top. When cutting lucky bamboo or any other plant, you should make the cut at a 45 degree angle. This allows for the plant to heal properly without creating a dieback situation. Something you may want to do is start a brand new plant with your clippings. Click this link to read instructions on how to start a new plant.
What a out water run through a pur filter
Hi Anthony,
That should be okay.
My Bamboo plant has 2 stocks & one has turned yellow & only the tip of the yellowed plant is green but I don’t have enough plant to it 1″ on the stock. Can I simply cut it just before the yellowing area & replant it or will it continue to turn yellow as well?
Hi Debbie,
You’ll definitely want to cut off the yellowing area. Afterward, make sure you wash it with mild dish detergent for 5-10 minutes and then keep it separated from the other stalks until it is revived.