lucky bamboo..

linnyz · #1 July 11th, 2006, 10:47 AM

I purchased "Lucky Bamboo" you place it indoors in water and let it be.. It was lucky for me for about 3 years , but it is starting to wilt..

Does anyone have advice on keeping it alive , the leaves are starting to yellow.. Im afraid it will die. It has grown into a very intresting looking plant and would love to keep it as long as I can..
Thank You.. Linda

**terrestrial_man** · #2 July 12th, 2006, 04:06 AM

This poor plant has been in water for 3 years!??
How often do you change the water?
Do you fertilize the plant?
Are there any roots left that do not look rotted??

While the water culture may seem interesting it does require care.
Personally I prefer a soil mix!
You may want to get a plastic pot and some houseplant soil mix and pot the plant into the pot. Just pull it out of the bowl and sit it into the pot and then pour in the soil mix while pulling up on the stem so that only the base of the stem is slightly in the soil.
Also use something to lightly tamp down the soil to secure the plant.
Water at least once a week or if the soil dries out then as needed.
Got a sprayer. This plant loves humidity and will appreciate a good misting with good clean water daily until its roots have a chance to recover from the shock of real dirt!
Also do so googling on it and see what interesting stuff you can learn about it!!

**Rima** · #3 July 12th, 2006, 11:27 AM

The plant is not actually bamboo, but is a Dracaena of some kind, in case you wanted to look up some care tips.

**terrestrial_man** · #4 July 12th, 2006, 11:06 PM

Also saw some today at WalMart and they had both potted ones and the ones in the water jars.

linnyz · #5 July 14th, 2006, 08:43 AM

I change the water once a week.. it loves figi water....
I have never given it any food..The instructions said not to do it.. I did add a drop of miracle grow once, but no improvement was noticed
The humidity the bathroom provides I believe is quite ample..

What type of food do you reccomend?

But I will gladly, try your suggestion and pot it.. It's such a cool looking plant..

Thanks for your suggestions . LZ

**Rima** · #6 July 14th, 2006, 04:19 PM

Just give it some regular balanced houseplant fertilizer, maybe a 10=10=10, half strength but every 10 days rather than full every 2 wks.

**Weekend Gardener** · #7 July 20th, 2006, 07:16 PM

3 years is pretty good going for dracaenia in water. They don't really survive much longer than that. The oldest one still in water in our house is now just over 2 years old and starting to look the worse for wear. The roots are prone to diseases in this form of culture. Inspite of care with the changing of water, it eventually will succumb. But it's not a great loss really, if you treat them like any other cut flowers - just buy another one!

**terrestrial_man** · #8 July 23rd, 2006, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weekend Gardener

3 years is pretty good going for dracaenia in water. ......... But it's not a great loss really, if you treat them like any other cut flowers - just buy another one!

So right! It sure seems that the potted plant business is headed towards throw-aways. This also seems to apply to African Violets as well. Tis a pity but I doubt if the potted plant growers are shedding many tears!