So i've had this lucky bamboo "stick" (for lack of a better word) for about a year... and it has not grown at all. When i brought it, it had two shoots growing out of it. A year later, it still looks the same. The store i got it from told me to put it in rocks and water. I did this and sat it on my kitchen countertop/bar. This summer I decided to sit it outside on my stoop to see if maybe it would grow. My stoop gets half sun and half shade. Still nothing. It hasn't turned colors or anything. Just looks exactly the same since the day i got it. How can i get this lucky bamboo to grow? Thanks in advance, Tara
Your lucky bamboo is not bamboo at all, it is Dracaena sanseriana. Nurseries/florists sell this in water as a feature. This plant in nature, doesn't grow in water, it grows in soil. A lot of people have problems with this plant in water, however some people grow it successfully. My advice is to put it in soil, and I think you will see improvement... Ed
Margie makes a very valid (and rather obscure, to most people) point. The main n'trunk' itself will not get any bigger, only the new trunk being formed by the leaves on up... I grow mine in bog conditions in fairly heavy sun, indoors and out, with a standard, draining pot (of soil) inside of a non-draining pot. This is my "Chinese take-out solution," as the outer container previously held egg drop soup... They also throroughly enjoy Miracle-Gro. Don't bother with the 'green green' or whatever the heck it's called these days, as it's pretty much just coloured mineral water...
Thank for the info... Another question if you don't mind? Will i get new shoots coming up from the dirt. I mean from the roots of the main plant? Or is that just REAL bamboo that does that? thanks again for posting Tara
Oh no, if it's happy, you will get volunteers galore. I have several that have popped up quite of their own accord the last year and a half I've had mine. I bought them in 3" pots, and they were no more than 6" high. They now crest 3' easily. They are happy.
