Find Your Local Florist:Everything you want to know about flowers!
Have you been feeling down on your luck lately? Do you know of a friend who could use a pick-me-up? Flowers are a great way to boost your overall mood, and sometimes they can even bring a little extra luck. There are plenty of arrangements brimming with green, and if you are looking for something that’s a little more long term, there’s a plant for you! [Read more…]
Ask the Expert: Ongoing Fight to Save Lucky Bamboo Stalk
“When I was jogging about 4 years ago, I found this Lucky Bamboo stalk on the top of someone’s trash and took him home. He’s always been in a glass vase with water and sat outside in the enclosed patio in south Florida. I’ve never had a problem until a week ago when the top of the stalk became yellow.
I removed him from the water, trimmed back all of the roots, and cut the stalk about a half-inch below where the yellow stopped. I had to repeat the process a week later and then again, today, but this time, I cut it significantly beneath the yellow and quickly applied cinnamon onto the cut. I also submerged the roots in clean water with some hydrogen peroxide. The thing is that there is a smell about him, but It seems to be coming from the middle of the stalk. It he doomed? Will the yellow continue to grow from the top, seemingly out of nowhere? He did grow brand spanking new, white roots in the last few days so that seems healthy.
Here are some photos: The yellow top I cut off today, the new roots, the freshly cut stalk. (Any brown powder is the cinnamon) Thank you SO MUCH for any advice. I really want to save this guy!” – Erika
Plant Expert Reply:
Erika,
Stalk looks fairly healthy. A couple of questions: Is the brown towards the bottom of the stalk cinnamon? Why did you place cinnamon on the cut and do you always cut straight across?
When cutting lucky bamboo or any other plant, you should make the cut at a 45 degree angle. This allows for the plant to heal properly without creating a dieback situation. The straight cut could be part of your problem.
Are you seeing any lesions on the stalk — see the image in this post Lucky Bamboo With Fungus .
I am also concerned about submerging the roots in hydrogen peroxide. How strong was the solution? Lucky bamboo is [Read more…]
Lucky bamboo is a favorite houseplant to give to someone to say “good luck!” It could be just before a test, for a grand opening, or just for fun. These little shoots make fantastic companions because they are so tolerant and easy to care for.
Use various numbers of bamboo to cause different types of effects. Here are a few popular 
groupings:
Ask the Expert: Bamboo rotting?
Hi! So I have been keeping my bamboo on a high shelf in good but indirect light, and feeding it bottled water/water left out for 24hrs. Today I took it down to move it and discovered two brown, wrinkly patches at the top where it curves. I couldn’t see them before, since that part was facing the wall.
My guess is that these patches died and started rotting at some point while on the shelf, but I’m surprised because in my experience when a part of a bamboo stalk starts to die, the whole thing has died within days. It’s also usually a bright yellow, not brown.
Do you have any idea what could have caused this? Is it going to keep spreading? I\’ve successfully removed the shoot from a dying bamboo plant in the past, but is it possible to remove the dead section of the stalk and have the rest of the stalk keep living?
Thanks! Renee
(P.S. Sorry for the bad photo quality. I haven’t got access to a real camera at the moment.)
Hello, my name is Ivy. I have a big problem on my lucky bamboo. [About a] month ago, it appeared to have a bug problem. Very small, red spiders and other insects that are so so small, they can hardly be noticed. They make the plant leaf turn lighter and slowly kill, and the leaf has sticky oil-like stuff coming out. Please help!!!
Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:
Ivy,
You probably have a red spider mite problem. Your local garden center and nursery should have an insecticide that will take care of it, and still be safe for your lucky bamboo. Fertilome has a red spider mite spray in a ready-to-use container. One or two treatments with the insecticide should take care of the problem.
Hope this information was helpful. Please let me know if I can help with anything else.
Have a plant question? Ask the expert now!
Ask the Expert:
Hi, I hope you could help me. The stem near the roots of my plant is starting to rot I guess. What should I do to save the plant and keeping it healthy? I have been watering the plant once a week with distilled water and placing it in indirect sunlight. Thank you. – Regina
Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:
Regina,
What is the substance in the glass? I am a little concerned that this substance maybe causing a problem. Lucky bamboo is usually placed in a glass container with pebbles or rocks. If it is something other than that, it maybe releasing a chemical that the lucky bamboo doesn’t like.
Are the roots soft and mushy? The plant looks fairly healthy. If the roots are soft and mushy, cut the top off and propagate a new stalk. If you are not sure how to do that read our blog post We Are Not Always Lucky With Lucky Bamboo.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if I can help with anything else.
Ask The Plant Expert:
I over-fertilized my lucky bamboo killing the roots and turning most of the stem yellow, I put it in fresh water, is there anything else I can do? After I put it in fresh water, I looked a couple days later and the water was blue again, I must have really overfertilized it a lot. – Marina
Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:
Because they do not require much fertilizer, over-fertilizing is easy to do with lucky bamboo. Unfortunately once the stem has turned yellow, especially from the roots, that part cannot be recovered. However, you might still be able to save your lucky bamboo plant!
If caught early and you notice just a small amount of yellow, change the water (distilled water) and move to a place with a little less light.
If it is worse than that, but there is still green up top, cut off the bottom and place it in a new container with fresh water. Also, stay away from fertilizing it for a while as well.
Hope this helps!
Will my lucky bamboo yellowing get better or do i need to cut it as not to kill the entire plant? – Mo
Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:
Mo, yellowing in lucky bamboo happens when stem cells to burst, causing irreparable damage. This can be caused by: over fertilization or chlorine and other chemicals in the water or too much light.
Because your bamboo shoot is still slightly green for now, try changing the water to distilled and making sure it is getting proper lighting. If the plant’s health does not improve in about a week, you will need to remove the shoot. (If it gets worse, go ahead and cut it.)
Removing the shoot: When you cut your bamboo (if necessary) you will cut the lucky bamboo about an inch from the next healthy node. (A node is the brown ring around the stalk) In this case, it would be the node close to the bottom. Your plant may be a little short, but it will make it! Refer to Not Always Lucky With Lucky Bamboo for better examples of cutting off yellow stalks.
Hi, My lucky bamboo (dracaena sanderiana) stalks started growing roots in the middle of the stems (nodes) where leaves have grown. This is the first time I have encountered this. Would like to know why this happens, and what should I do. I suspect it’s not getting any water and thus the leaves are yellowing…
Thanks in advance for your help! – Meng
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Ask The Plant Expert: I noticed my lucky bamboo that I’ve had for 3 months has a stalk top part that’s brown. I don’t know if it’s slowly dying, or what I should do. Help?
Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply: Kylene, I don’t think you should be too worried. The browning looks like it is still firm. Unless the browning continues to spread I would not worry about it.
Check out our article: Top Lucky Bamboo Questions Answered for more tips on Lucky Bamboo Care.
