Lucky "Bamboo"?

[RandomGemini]

Does anyone here keep Lucky Bamboo?

I have one that I've managed to keep alive for about six years. It's been in the same location. We've repotted it a couple of times (it's potted in aquarium gravel) and it has done well in this spot.

A few months ago, it started turning yellow. There are bright, vibrant green shoots at the base of the plant, but from about six inches above the base, on up, the stems and leaves are yellowing.

We fertilize it when we think of it with seachem flourish excel. It's what I use for my planted aquarium and since I know this plant is a bog plant, I figured an aquarium fertilizer would be a good fit for it.

I'll take some pictures to post.

Any ideas on what I can do to keep it from withering away and dying?

[WhiteRabbit]

No idea ... here's a
Good luck!)

[RandomGemini]

I figured out what was wrong. The light in the room that I've had it in has gotten significantly brighter. We had our decking replaced this summer and the new decking is reflecting a lot of light into that room. I've moved it and already it seems to be better off. The stems seem darker today than they did yesterday.

Thanks anyway!

[Wild Orchid]

Originally Posted by RandomGemini

Does anyone here keep Lucky Bamboo?

I have one that I've managed to keep alive for about six years. It's been in the same location. We've repotted it a couple of times (it's potted in aquarium gravel) and it has done well in this spot.

A few months ago, it started turning yellow. There are bright, vibrant green shoots at the base of the plant, but from about six inches above the base, on up, the stems and leaves are yellowing.

We fertilize it when we think of it with seachem flourish excel. It's what I use for my planted aquarium and since I know this plant is a bog plant, I figured an aquarium fertilizer would be a good fit for it.

I'll take some pictures to post.

Any ideas on what I can do to keep it from withering away and dying?

I would be very interested about the culture you use and see the pictures.

Thanks!

[RandomGemini]

Not to make a pun or anything, but I've been very lucky with this plant. I don't know a lot about them at all, I just know that they are not actually a bamboo. Its latin name is dracaena sanderiana and is a member of the lily family.

As far as what I do, I keep it in a pot. It's rooted in a round pebble aquarium gravel. I'm not sure if they should be grown in soil or not, but I've had a lot of bad luck with house plants and I've had better success with planted aquariums so I figured that keeping it in water was probably my best shot at keeping it alive. I keep the water level up to just at the base of the stems and every couple of weeks, I drain the pot, give it a good rinse and refill it. I fertilize with about 1ml of seachem flourish excel every couple of months, when I think about it. It's a diffuse light plant and my house gets lots of indirect light, so we thought it would be a good fit after trying several different house plants and having very little success with them.

I also repot it about once a year or so, whenever it gets root bound to the point where the pebbles no longer move inside the pot when I drain it.

[Wild Orchid]

Very interesting!

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

[MrHappyRotter]

Just a heads up, Seachem Flourish Excel isn't a fertilizer for terrestrial plants. It's a chemical source of carbon for aquatic plants in aquariums lacking CO2 injection. It's really only useful for fully aquatic plants, since terrestrial plants have ready access to all the CO2 they could possibly need. At best, it's probably keeping the algae at bay. It doesn't provide any of the nutrients that terrestrial plants need to grow.

It's probably not doing any harm, particularly if you say the plant is looking better, but it's also most definitely not providing any source of nutrition for the plant.

I would recommend using a fertilizer for the plant, but make sure to use a weak dose (maybe 1/4 recommended strength) since you're growing in an inert mix of gravel.

[RandomGemini]

Thanks for the info! I'll look into finding a liquid fertilizer for it!

[Kate696]

Your lucky bamboo has babies, based on the photo you shared! Using a clean (disinfected with rubbing alcohol) exacto knife, or something very sharp, cut the new growths off, stick them in water, and watch your new plants grow! Your other plant should regain health, as well.

[Roberta]

Kate, Welcome!
Note that the last post on this thread was 10 years ago.