Lucky Bamboo With Rotting Roots

Ask the Expert: Yellowing Stem- Plant
Hello,

I got a lucky bamboo three months ago, and about a week ago the stem started yellowing. As you can see from the picture, the roots kind of turned brown/black-ish. The leaves are still very green, and the stem is yellowing but still strong. In picture 1 you can see its about half green/half yellow. I had a few questions, though. 1. I saw that you usually recommend to cut off the yellow parts and start with green, but is that ALWAYS the case? Is it possible for the bamboo stem to recover and turn green again, or is it “once yellow, always yellow?” 2. Although the bottom of the rooms look black/brown, I see some new white (healthy?) roots budding from it. What does this mean? Could I just cut off the brown part entirely, and have new roots grow from the yellow stem? Is there any disadvantage to a wait and see approach?

Thank You,
Mike

Plant Expert Reply:
The wait and see approach can work for yellowing stems, but only if the roots are still healthy. The yellow stalks usually don’t turn back to green but can survive if the stalk doesn’t become soft and mushy. However, your roots do not look healthy. This is what I recommend: Cut the healthy top off the lucky bamboo stalk and start a new plant in a new container. Then cut the black roots off and see if the stalk will produce new roots and come out of the yellowing. The disadvantage to the wait and see approach is:
1) If multiple stalks in one container the issue can spread.
2) If you wait to long, you might not have a healthy piece to start a new one.

If you try my recommendation, you can essentially have your cake and eat it too. Good luck and keep me posted.