How Do You Pot Lucky Bamboo
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
May 14th, 2007 at 7:51 am
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.
May 16th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
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!
November 6th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Thank you. That was very helpful.