Find Your Gary asks:
We have a 3 stalk Lucy Banboo plant and it was doing well but in the last two weeks we have ovserved that the biggest and tallest one has start to trun yellow. The leaves are all green and healthly looking. We live outside of Bethlehem PA. The temperature is about 60 degrees. The plant gets indirect day light but it is not in a window.We use only spring water and we water it twice a month.
Is this condition something that I should be worry about.
Jamie’s Reply: Although you use spring water, it may still be heavy in salts. Too much floride, chlorine, or salts can cause the leaves to yellow. Try using distilled water. I would not worry if only one or two leaves at the bottom are turning yellow. Flower Shop Network has an informative newsletter called Caring for Lucky Bamboo. Hope this helps.
Gary responds:
Thank you for getting back to me but the leaves are not the part that is turning yellow but 1 out of tree stalks are turning yellow.
I printed out the newsletter and will read through it. Should I be worried about the stalk turning yellow?
Jamie’s Reply: I am a little concerned. You may have some type of pathogen — insect or fungal. Check for scale or spider mites both are insects. Scale will be a cottony substance or a shell like attachment on the stem or at the base of the leaves. You will need a magnifying glass to see the spider mites — they will be actively crawling around. As for fungal, check for soft tissue any where on the stem especially at the water line. One other thing have you fertilized your lucky bamboo? I will research a little further to see if I can come up with any other possibilities.
Gary Responds:
Thank you for getting back to me.
I will get a magnifying glass and check for spider mites and fungal. No we have not fertilized the luck bamboo but we will. Can you please let us know what and how we should do this.
Jamie’s Reply : Use any standard house plant food at about one-tenth the recommended dilution rate each time you change the water. Make sure you are using a water soluble fertilizer.
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hi Jamie, I have attached a pic. Hope it helps. When we first got the plant the pebbles were clean. A few days later the green stains/stuff started appearing.
Attached Image: lucky bamboo 4.jpg
I have no idea what that green stuff is. You could all the pebbles and wash them in bleach and them triple rinse them with warm soapy water and then triple rinse with clear water. Then reassemble;e the lucky bamboo stalks and fill with distilled water. The stalk that is yellowing looks like it has some damage wither fungal or just rough treatment – remove it and the other stalks should be ok.
Hi Jamie
I have had my luscky bamboo for about 4 years. for about 3 years the plant grew very well. For last year the leaves on the plant starting yellowing from the the botton I cut them off. Now the leaves are yellowing from the top. The stalk and roots look healthy. About 4 months ago I took it to the local garden shop and they told me to try changing the water and add very diluted fertilizer to it. I done that and the leaves are still yellowing. Before that time I had never used any fertilizer. About a month ago I began using distilled water but before that I used bottled spring water. It still receives the same filtered sunlight that it always had and I change the water regularly. Can you help me? I have another lucky bamboo that sits beside it that I have no problems with. I have attached a picture.
Attached Image: PIC-0048.jpg
I would only add fertilizer to it once or twice a year and very very dilute. As with all plants there comes a time when you simply need new ones. Now might be a good time to start some new lucky bamboo by topping the stalk. Take a look at our Topping Lucky Bamboo post or We are not Always Lucky With Lucky Bamboo post. They both have information on how to propagate lucky bamboo. Sometime topping them actually helps and gives you new plants to boot.
Hi. I have a bamboo plant I won on the boardwalk 1 year ago. Unfortunately, this and my other bonsai plant are infected with spider mites. They have been for a while. I hose them off now and again so I do not see spider mites or webbing. This time I noticed some brown dried tiny streaks in the green leaves. I figured the spider mites were getting to be too much. The plant had a period where the roots on the top were kind of dry for 1.5 days. I took the plant in the shower, and shampooed it thoroughly and rinsed it thoroughly. It is a week and a half later I noticed I had a few yellow leaves. Then I noticed one of my stems was yellow. (It’s an arrangement BTW). The leaves are too. They are not smelly or squishy, just yellow. No direct sunlight, I water with bottled water and fertilize here and there. I haven’t fertilized it in a while, so I gave it some immediately. What could be the problem? I also didn’t put the marbles back after I washed it. Please help. Thanks.
If the stalk is mushy, you will need to cut off the mushy part and save the part that is still healthy and green. If the healthy part is the top you will need to dip it in rooting hormone and root it. If it is the bottom and no longer has leaves, let it dry for a couple of days and then start misting it until it forms new leaves. Do not give it any more fertilizer. When plants are under stress fertilizer can do more damage than good. Also, it isn’t a good idea to shampoo your plants. If you need to get rid of insect without the use of harsh chemical use insecticidal soap instead. Once you give the plant the right conditions – water – light etc., be patient. It will take a couple of weeks for the plant to recover
Thanks for the response. I want to do everything to save this plant and I don’t always have the best of luck. This time, I attached some pics. The stem isn’t mushy, but nothing the stem, stalk, or one leaf left have any green on them. I took a close up of some leaves to show the brown marks on them. Are red dots normal on a stem? I noticed a few had a red dot on them. Also the tips of the majority of the leaves are dry. Is that normal?
Also, is it okay to wipe the leaves with isopropyl alcohol once in a while? I also posted a pic of the overall plant. It’s all green (exept sections where I held the flash light, the look yellow but they are really green) but the plant looks a little sickly to me. Is it dying? :(
Cali,
The pictures didn’t come through. Can you send them to me at jadams@flowershopnetwork.com?
Hi, I have to send new pics because my plant has changed so much, but now I have more problems. So the original yellow stalk got a little mushy on the sides, so I removed it. Now I noticed that the rest of the stems are getting a little wrinkly, and another stem is yellow. Some more leaves are getting yellow at the tips. I don’t know what’s going on…I read on another forum that the plant is drying out, so I filled a container with water bottle water just right below the leaves. What is happeneing? is it dying? how can i stop this before it’s too late,
I did get the pics, but it does sound like you have a severe problem. At this point your only hope is to start new plants off the healthy tissue. If you want to know how to start new plants read: We are not always lucky with lucky bamboo. It details how to create new plants from ones that are having issues.
my lucky bamboo is turning yellow and it isn’t soft and the leaves are still green but wilted a little. could the possibility of it turning yellow be that it is in shock because when i transfered it from on vase to another, some of the roots came out. i keep it in little sunlight, i always keep water in the vase, and i put rocks at the bottom of the vase to keep it standing straight. is there anything i could do to keep it from turning yellow?
It is possible your lucky bamboo plant is in shock and with good care, will bounce back on it’s own. There are a few things you can do to ensure optimal health. First, are you using tap water or filtered? It’s best to leave your filtered water out, uncovered, for 24 hours before you add it to your lucky bamboo plant to let the chemicals disperse. Hope this helps and good luck!
Hi i have a bamboo its in a complete circle divides by 3,3,3,3, n so on in the circle. but ive kept it in a fish bowl with a beta no problem. all of a sudden it stated one stip yellow so i removed it not thinking i mightve messed the roots up trying to get it out from destroying the rest of it well then another yellow took it out now i got another yellow strip again. i removed it from the fish bowl put it in a plastic container with tap water and fertilizer today wht did i do wrong or what can i do to get it to stop yellowing. always had it in fish bowls.
How often did you change the water in your fishbowl? It’s likely the yellowing was caused partly by the build-up of fish pollutants in the water. It’s a good idea to refresh about 30% of your water every week because there is no filtration system. If you move the bamboo, make sure it’s getting the same conditions (water and temperature) as it was before. This will also make your bamboo have issues. Hope this helps!
Recently, one of my bamboo stalks started to turn yellow. When I discovered this, I immediately separated it from its partner, washed off the roots, and put it in some fresh distilled water. Hoping this would remedy its affliction, I was discouraged to see the bamboo only got worse. While I cannot say for sure what caused it to yellow, I believe this started when I put a couple of drops of fertilizer directly into the water. I had read online that using a fertilizer is good every so often, but in this bamboo’s case, the fertilizer only made it worse. Is there any way a stalk that is about 60% yellow can be revived?
Lucky Bamboo is very finicky when it comes to fertilizing and it’s very easy to over-do it. Also, unless your fertilizer says otherwise, never put drops directly into water containing bamboo. Instead, mix water and fertilizer together before adding the bamboo. The good news is the bamboo can probably be saved, however anything that has turned yellow is not coming back. It’s best to cut off the yellowing part. To do this you’ll need a rooting hormone commonly found at any garden center or nursery. Simply cut off the yellow end, and follow the directions of your rooting hormone. Your bamboo will hopefully be back to normal in no time! For more care tips, check out Top Questions About Lucky Bamboo Answered.
Thanks for the link and info, Mandy!
I’m kicking myself now because I *should* have done some extra digging before taking the first bit of advice and jumping right in. After all, both stalks were doing perfectly well and were very healthy. I had read [somewhere in the vast ‘Net] to add a few drops directly in the water. Amidst our crazy move just before Christmas and the holidays, I neglected to check for any immediate changes. By the time I got around to checking both stalks, I noticed one was turning yellow. Luckily, the other survived :)
Lesson learned!
Hi,
I’ve had my two bamboo plants for about 6 years now and they’ve grown to 15″. I’ve kept them in a tall glass vase filled halfway w/water (so about 1/3+ of the stalk is immersed in water). About a year ago, I added some glass stones to keep them propped up. I usually just water them about once or twice a month, which means adding filtered water when I see the water level has gone down about an inch. Have had a few yellowing, browning/drying leaves, but otherwise they seem fine. Today, I discovered one of the plant’s stalks has turned completely yellow though remains firm. It’s shoot still has nice green leaves. I just washed out the vase, removed the stones and replaced the green stalk back into the original vase. I’ve placed the yellowed stalk into a separate, washed vase. Is there any way to save this yellowed stalk? Or cut off the green shoot and root it? I don’t see any evidence of spider mites or fungus (like I’ve read in prior posts). I know I should use distilled water (and did that awhile back when I first saw that the leaves were yellowing, but didn’t see a change.) Thank you in advance.
Usually the yellow part remains yellow once it has turned. Your best bet would be to start a new plant from the green section.
How will office lighting (approximately 13 hours per business day) affect the Lucky Bamboo plant?
Buddy
It shouldn’t be a problem since most office lights are extremely powerful and usually have several feet between them and the plant.
I thought I’d post the problem with my other bamboo plant in another comment as the first was getting rather long.
I’ve noticed recently that the other plant has started getting a white milky looking substance aroung the bit of the stem underwater and some of the roots. Several of the leaves lower down the stem have also turned yellow.
I’ve taken the yellow leaves off, and I’ve been trying to cure the milky looking substance by changing the water and rinsing/wiping the stem/roots more regularly. I was just wondering what this milky-looking stuff actually is, is it some sort of fungas or something?
I used to have a small sprig of lucky bamboo that never really grew proper roots, and recently turned yellow and died. But this sprig also had the same problem with the milky stuff which felt slightly slimy when you touched the stem. Could it have been passed on from this plant, or is it fairly common anyway?
The last four pictures in my gallery at http://gallery.corish.org/index.php?dir=Misc%2Fluckybamboo are of my second plant.
Thanks, Peter.
Attached Image: LB2_DSCN3145b.jpg
Second bit:
After reading through all the comments on this page I’ve changed the water a few times, including changing the container, plus I’ve wiped the stem down with a soapy cloth and rinsed it.
A few months ago a new shoot started growing from the base of the stem below the waterline. I let this grow, and it has since surfaced and looks quite healthy. I was wondering if this shoot is what is causing the yellowing further up though, as there hasn’t been much growth at the top since this shoot started – could it be diverting water/nutrients? If so, then if I cut it off to try turning into a new cutting is the main stem likely to recover?
I also noticed a mark near the base next to the new shoot as well (shown here: http://gallery.corish.org/index.php?display=Misc%2Fluckybamboo%2FLB1c_DSCN3129.JPG), I don’t know if this could be part of the issue?
The only other two things that I can think of that may have affected it are that one of the lightbulbs in the bathroom above where I keep the bamboo stopped working a couple of months ago – I’ve not replaced the bulb as I’m planning to replace the light fittings soon anyway, but because of this the bamboo has probably had less light, although it still has indirect light through the window and from the remaining bulb. The other thing is I hadn’t changed the water recently (until I noticed the problem), and last time I changed the water I used water with a bit of fertiliser – could the fertiliser have built up in the bamboo over time to cause the problem?
Thanks in advance for any advice, and sorry for the long post!
Thanks, Peter.
Peter,
Sounds like you’ve done a lot to help your bamboo’s fungal problems. Replacing the water and cleaning the container was the right step to begin with. It’s likely the white substance is only plasmodial slime mold and not a fungus. If it was fairly easy to remove, it’s probably not a fungus, (however if it was hard to remove and you continue to see signs of it, you may need to use an insecticide.) Now that you’ve cleaned off the white substance and cleaned the container thoroughly, plus added new water, your bamboo should recover. It’s a good practice to let your water sit out in an open container over night before adding it to your bamboo. Let your plants recover before using fertilizer again, as lucky bamboo needs very little fertilizers.
For the 2nd one, I don’t think the new shoot is causing the problems for your main stem. From your picture, I think your water level is too high. Your bamboo only needs enough water to cover the roots and just about 2 inches above. This could be why a new shoot sprouted so close to the roots.
The change in light may very well be the problem for this one. See if it recovers with additional light before trying to remove the new shoot.
When you cut your lucky bamboo to begin a new plant, most of the time adding it to water will do the trick. However, if it does not, you can find a rooting hormone at any garden center or nursery; follow all instructions and this should force it to root.
This post is a great help to lucky bamboo owners: Top Questions About Lucky Bamboo Answered
Hope this helps!
Hi, Just to let you know i eliminated the diseased stalk and now my other two are Huge! everyone comments on how big, green and lushus my plant is and it has so many leaves….cant say to much on the luck side of things though. :)
Hi, I have been following this thread regarding some concerns about lucky bamboo. I have been growing one healthy lucky bamboo for almost five months now with no problems.
About 7 days ago, I bought 8 new stalks to add on my collection. They are all arranged by three’s in one container including the old bamboo. However, i notice that after 2 days, the water began to smell really stinky. I immediately clean all the plants under running water, the container and the pebbles and added a fresh distilled water. After 2 days, the problem still exist. Three containers are again stinky, washed them all again and added new fresh water but then today the same smell-problem still exist.
I hope you could help me with this, will I consider the newly bought lucky bamboo in poor health and separate my old bamboo? What will I do to remove the bad odor? thanks and i will greatly appreciate your help.
Rhye,
It sounds like the new bamboo is the cause of the issue. First segregate the old from the new – hopefully the problem is still only with the new stalks. Wash the container for the old stalks with hot soapy water and triple rinse. Then take a clean wet rag and wipe down the old stalks and refill the container with distilled water. Now check the new stalks and make sure they are still firm and green. If you find any mushy parts, those will need to be removed. Depending on where the mushy part is you may end up with two piece – one that will need to form roots and one that will need to form new leaves. Just follow normal propagating techniques for lucky bamboo and every thing will be fine. However, before you do that wash the lucky bamboo stalks with a mild detergent – you can fill up the sink with a small drop of say Dove and a lot of water – dip the stalks in the warm soapy water and then rinse with clean warm water. If the stalks had a fungus, algae or insects this should either eliminate them or reduce their numbers. Then you can place the new stalks in a new clean container (I would use an opaque one – just in case algae is the problem). Hopefully this will take care of the problem.
Hi Jaime,
Thanks for the quick reply. I’ll follow your advise right away and keep you posted.
Another concern:
I notice that the new bamboo stalks have somewhat soft roots. Some of them are brown-black in color and I trimmed them off before putting on the container. However, most of the roots do have a soft covering in orange to red in color (just like the normal and healthy roots of lucky bamboo) but if you try to touch these roots they are soft and easily be removed. You can actually pull them off. Pulling them off will reveal the white thin thread-like roots of the bamboo. Is it okay to remove these seems to be outer covering of the lucky bamboo roots (the white thin thread-like roots will still remain though)?
Many thanks for your time and help :)
Rhye,
I would remove any unhealthy roots. Can you send me a picture jadams@flowershopnetwork.com. I want to make sure that the lucky bamboo you purchased does not show signs of Colletotrichum dracaenophilum, stem rot.
Hi Jamie,
First off, thanks for your patience and help for saving my lucky bamboo.
Attached are the pictures of the plant.
Today, there is no more foul smelling odor on my plant (there’s still a bit some smell but not unlike the first one, only noticeable when you smell close to the roots) but then another problem arises.
– Tips are becoming yellow. They are not in direct sunlight (only filtered from the east) and I have been watering them using distilled or bottle water only when the water level decreases.
– As you can see, the picture labeled 3 is my older lucky bamboo that showed no sign of problems for the past 5 months but now it seems that he is being included on the group of yellow tips.
– Also, roots are thin because I removed the outer covering (seems like), as they are soft and mushy…
– Another one, is this a normal process, black spots underneath? These are new cuttings from one of the new bamboo that has been in the water for ten days (trying to root them). Their water isn’t foul smelling though.
Please help Jamie; they are just so beautiful to let them die ;(
Thanks for your concern.
God Bless.
Attached Image: Image696.jpg
Rhyan,
All the stalks with the raised brown spots on the stems appear to have a Anthracnose Disease which is caused by a pathogen called Colletotrichum spp. Unfortunately I don’t know of a good cure for it. Most of the time it will kill the lucky bamboo stalks. Your plants most likely had the pathogen when you bought them. The over production of Draceana sanderiana (lucky bamboo) has allowed this pathogen to spread. You can wait and see if these plants overcome the issue, but they can and most likely will spread the disease to other lucky bamboo.
As for your old stalks, they may have been infected. So I would remove any leaf that is showing yellowing and watch them very carefully for the next few weeks. Keep them away from the new stalks.
Good Luck and please let me know how things progress.
Hi Jamie,
Thanks for your reply.
How sad this is…
What do you think about these steps I was thinking to control or eliminate the pathogen:
1. clean the stalks, rocks and container using soap
2. use alcohol to spot treat the affected parts
3. or remove the infected stalks and regrow the tops by cutting and rooting them?
Also, what can you say about my query regarding the rooting pics I sent to you?
Thanks for the big help and patience Jamie ;)
Attached Image: New cuttings 2.jpg
Rhyan,
I would try cutting the tops off and rooting them after you clean them with the soapy water. One of the things the pathogen does is destroy the roots. If the bottoms you showed me had roots at one time the pathogen has definitely destroyed the roots and I would make sure that only the tops of the stalks were used.
When you root the tops, the stalks will form a callus the first weeks and then it will start forming roots. Be sure to use a rooting hormone when you try to root the tops.
Let me know if you need instructions on how to propagate the tops.
I am happy to help anytime.
My 3 stock lucky bamboo looks really healthy to me but i’m not sure if it is. my bedroom is in the basement so it gets no sunlight what so ever. I keep it right beside my lamp, i change the water every month and give it new water each week and my plant is super green and strong. Is my plant healthy?
Does my plant look healthy? the light makes the laves look a litttle yellow but they are a really nice green.
Attached Image: 2101.jpg
Emily, your lucky bamboo looks like it’s doing okay. You can expect it to be a little pale because of the lack of light. I recommend leaving your light on more or finding another light source you could leave on for it. It starts looking too-yellow, definitely increase the lighting. Hope this helps.
I have several bamboo plants that seem to be doing okay despite my ignorance about all things green. However there is one that seems to be having trouble lately. He lives in a big glass vase with a bunch of rocks but the last time I cleaned everything I noticed that a big portion of the roots had gotten very tangled and looked like a gross little knot. Some of his leaves are turning brown at the edges so I’m worried. But I have NO idea how to handle roots. They’re all different colors too. (yellow, orange, dark orange)
I don’t want to break or tear the roots in case that’s harmful in any way but I’m pretty sure that big knot is a problem.
And as far as cleaning everything out and replacing the rocks, is there a better way to do that without damaging or causing trauma to the roots? I’d love some help with this if possible. Thank you!
Savvy,
As long as your stalk is still healthy, the roots are probably okay. However, it won’t hurt to cut the roots, but I usually work my fingers through the roots (similar to untangling hair) until I free them from each other. If you are going to cut them try to cut them as far from the lucky bamboo plant as possible. By doing this you will ensure that each stalk has plenty of roots to sustain it. Roots are more resilient than you might think.
yellowing leaves at the base
Attached Image: plant 2.jpg
brown base of the shoot
Attached Image: plant 3.jpg
(Not sure if my original question went through…sorry if this is a duplicate.)
firstly, thanks for an incredible resource!
i recently re-potted someone else’s plant in soil. It had been in the original tiny container with pebbles for years. The roots had formed a tight ball and i had to break the container to get them out. Some of the leaves had brown tips which I trimmed, but overall the plant seemed quite healthy.
I have two concerns:
1) at the base of the shoots, the leaves are a little yellow and droopy. the plant is quite large (see attached picture) so i wonder if it isn’t just the old leaves dying and falling off. or is it really a problem?
2) one, maybe two, of the stalks are brown at the base. it’s not very much, but seems more than some of the pictures here.
it’s only been re-potted for a few days, and i’ve moved it away from the window sill to a more interior, but still well lit spot. After reading this, I plan to switch to distilled water! I’m just wondering if I need to do anything more drastic, or just watch and wait? (I’m tempted to pull off the yellow leaves at the bottom, but my gut says that isn’t wise. Any thoughts?)
Attached Image: plant 1.jpg
Dan,
Your plant seems to be in fair condition. If the plant was previous growing in water, it will go through severe transplant shock as it acclimates to the soil. You will need to keep the soil moist, yet excess soil needs to drain away from the plant. Damping off or root rot can become a problem if the soil is kept too moist. Once the plant has acclimated to the soil, it should continue to grow without any problems. In the mean time the leaves may turn yellow and drop off. This is ok as long as it occurs in only the bottom or old leaves. Watch the health of the new leaves. As long as they are health and green, proceed as planned. If they become yellow make sure the plant is not sitting in water. Good lcuk and let me know how it goes.
Thanks for your help!
As an update, the first few days everything looked great. In the last few days, the yellow leaves have started to spread upwards. Still not that far up, but spread pretty fast the last few days. The top still looks fine.
I’m watering it frequently. I have a pot that drains out excess water, though sometimes it sits in the bottom. If too much accumulates there, I dry it out with a paper towel.
I think it’s still ok, but I’ll attach a couple of pictures for you to see. And to keep everyone here updated…
Attached Image: IMAG0713.jpg
closeup
Attached Image: IMAG0716.jpg
Dan,
Pull back on the water. From the look of the picture it is getting too much water. Give it a week between watering.
oops….
ok thanks. will do.
Anytime. Keep me posted.
Weekly update…
Stopping the water may have saved the plant (thanks!) though I’m still not sure. The rising yellow level continued another day or two, but then seemed to stop. The lower leaves are yellow – and I’m guessing they’re dead? Will they just fall off on their own, or do I need to do anything? (i.e. Do I need to cut the upper branches off to save them, or can I still leave them as is and let the leaves fall off?)
Thanks as always for your help!
Attached Image: IMAG0922.jpg
Closeup. Some of the leaves are drying out it seems. The stems are yellow for about 8 to 10 inches – though you can see some bits of green interspersed.
Attached Image: IMAG0921.jpg
Extreme closeup! :)
I noticed something interesting, in that it seems like the tips of the upper leaves got yellow, but then the green returned. Almost as if they were starting to turn yellow until the process reversed, and now they’re growing green again.
At least I think that’s what happened. I didn’t notice it until I saw this pattern of yellow and then green.
Attached Image: IMAG0928.jpg