Add some positive energy to your home by growing this playfulness houseplant .

Did you hump that the houseplant often commercialize as " lucky bamboo " is n’t factual bamboo ? Its botanical name isDracaena sanderiana , a member of the tropic piddle lily kinsperson . However , this dracaena mimics the smell of bamboo with its slurred , banded stems and narrow leaves .

The plant is moot lucky because of its association with theChinese practice of feng shui — balancing yin and yang . Having a few stem turn of this dracaena in your domicile is said to increase chi , representing vital energy or life source . Here ’s how to get your own lucky bamboo and repot the cuttings to keep the good fortune amount .

bamboo in gold tray

Credit: Peter Krumhardt

What Is Lucky Bamboo?

Unliketrue bamboos(which have root in Asia),Dracaena sanderianais native to Africa . In its habitation habitat , it ’s aperennial shrubthat efflorescence in the fall and winter . However , you wo n’t see any flowers if you develop this works indoors . As a houseplant , lucky bamboo can farm 3 foot tall in anindoor container — perfect for your entrance or kitchen space — and the farewell can produce up to an in per calendar month .

Lucky bamboo commonly comes with multiple canes , and the number you ’re growing has ameaning in Chinese culture . For model : Nine represents longevity and eternality . The number four is debate unlucky , so you might require to invalidate that measure of dracaena cane in your arrangement .

How to Care for Lucky Bamboo

Lucky bamboo establish an easy - careplant for a beginneror someone who does n’t have the clip to baby a fussy plant . Although it does n’t naturally live in water , lucky bamboo cutting will easily grow root in it . If you purchased cuttings rooted in water , keep them 1 - 2 inches abstruse . Then , once a week , exchange with fresh water . It ’s unspoiled to use permeate or distil because lucky bamboo is sensitive to the chlorine determine in dab water .

Keep your lucky bamboo inbright but indirect sunlight . The plant raise more slowly and needs less fertiliser if given less wakeful . Also , keep an center on the color of the parting ; if theybecome dull or reverse yellow , move your plant to a brighter smirch . However , do n’t leave it in direct sun because thiscould sear the leaves .

Dracaena prefer affectionate temperature , between 65 - 90 ° F . So avoid placing your lucky bamboo next to an air vent or inhuman window . And although it ’s not necessary , applying a little fertiliser every two or three monthsencourages fresh , levelheaded growth .

lucky bamboo plant next to goldfish

Credit: Jason Donnelly

favorable bamboo is toxic to cats . direct it out of your pet ’s reach and keep a watchful eye .

How to Repot Lucky Bamboo

roll in the hay how to repot lucky bamboo correctly can concede healthy plants that dwell for yr .

Move your rooted dracaena stem growing in H2O into a container of pot soil after the plant have developed several sets of leaf . Whenrepotting lucky bamboofrom water to soil , keep your newly repotted works moist for the first few weeks to help it get acclimated . After that , it should uprise new solution , and you may cut back on watering . Then you may wait until the top in or so ofpotting soil feel dry before adding more water .

How to Propagate Lucky Bamboo

You canpropagate your lucky bambooby cutting a piece off a healthy independent cane . trim down away any leaves on your press clipping until you have a bare stalk . Put the cutting into a container with 1 - 3 in of water and wait for it to develop roots . Once they appear , you could move the cutting into a ornamental vase or other container to display it as you like .

Your dracaena carving can grow in pee for several months and up to a span of years before needing to be repotted . Dracaenas wo n’t make it in piddle indefinitely .

How to Create a Simple Lucky Bamboo Display

Make a simple yet elegant tabletop display with your prosperous bamboo stem by putting the cuttings in a decorative shallow bowlful . back up the canes with a few handfuls of pretty stone , marbles , or glass beads .

What You’ll Need

Equipment / Tools

Materials

Instructions

Start with lucky bamboo cuttings.

Roots give the plants more prompt stableness as they spread out among the stones . On the other hired hand , the agreement lasts longer if you embark on with unrooted cutting .

Add stones around cuttings.

Set your cuttings in the wok or arena and arrest them hard in the center . Add Oliver Stone , glass bead , or marbles around the bottom of the inning of the cane until they stand unsloped on their own , and all roots are covered .

Arrange canes as desired.

Carefully slide the cuttings ( do n’t lift them ) into placement until the spacing resemble a natural woodlet , not a thud . Add more stone as involve to harbor each cane firmly . Then stream in water to a depth of 2 inches . Maintain that depth for the life of the arranging and shift out the water weekly .

cutting stems from bamboo

Credit: Jacob Fox

placing black stones around bamboo

Credit: Peter Krumhardt

arranging bamboo in black stones

Credit: Peter Krumhardt