Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana)

A Lucky Bamboo Plant is really made up of the cut stalks of a Dracaena Sanderiana plant and is native to West Africa and Eastern Asia. These Lucky Bamboo Plant stalks are usually between 4″- 24″in height. Followers of Feng Shui believe that Lucky Bamboo Plants bring prosperity and good fortune to a home or business. If a Lucky Bamboo Plant arrangement has three stalks it brings happiness, five stalks bring wealth, and six stalks bring health. Four stalks are never allowed in a Lucky Bamboo Plant since the word four in Chinese sounds too close to the Chinese word for death. If you buy the Lucky Bamboo Plant stalks loose and not planted, be sure to keep them in water until you have permanently placed them in a vase or decorative container. If you purchase multiple Lucky Bamboo Plant stems that are tied together, do not remove the ties, this stabilizes the plant. Lucky Bamboo Plants require very little care and grows practically anywhere as long as you keep the water clean and chemical free .

LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS: A Lucky Bamboo Plant survives in low light but does better in medium indirect light. Pale leaves indicate a Lucky Bamboo Plant is not getting enough light. Avoid placing a Lucky Bamboo Plant in the direct sun.

CARE INSTRUCTIONS WATER: Watering a Lucky Bamboo Plant takes a little time and care. Keep the marbles and pebbles in your Lucky Bamboo Plant vase covered with water at all times. Add water to the Lucky Bamboo Plant container weekly to keep the proper level. Once a month remove the Lucky Bamboo Plant from the water, rinse the roots, pebbles, and marbles with fresh water, and then put the arrangement back together. Avoid using water high in fluoride or chlorine.

FERTILIZER: Fertilize a Lucky Bamboo Plant monthly in the spring and summer with an African Violet plant food at 1/2 the recommended strength. Excessive fertilizer causes the leaves of a Lucky Bamboo Plant to turn yellow.

TEMPERATURE: Lucky Bamboo Plants do best in warm temperatures between 70-85 degrees.

HUMIDITY: Basic household humidity is fine for a Lucky Bamboo Plant.

FLOWERING: A Lucky Bamboo Plant produces flowers that only appear at night. The blooms of a Lucky Bamboo plant are made up of many small flowers and have a slight scent.

PESTS: A Lucky Bamboo Plant attracts unwanted insects if placed outdoors but is pest resistant indoors.

DISEASES: Lucky Bamboo plants are prone to fungal infections that turn the stalks yellow and cause the stalks to die.

SOIL: Lucky Bamboo Plants can be planted in a loose quick-draining soil as well as kept in a vase of water. If using soil always allow the top few inches to dry out before watering a Lucky Bamboo Plant.