Lucky Bamboo help

[megm]

I have a lucky bamboo plant that I've had for almost 12 years now. It has seen better days and I'm trying to figure out what to do to get it back to health. The tips of the leaves are turning yellow/brown, which it's in a window that has direct sun exposure, so I am moving it. It's also really tall, is there a way to cut it down and increase the number of stalks? Is there a way to encourage more stalks to grow? I'd love to see if I can get this back to a healthy, thriving plant again.

 

[oneeye]

Lucky Bamboo grows best with ample water but the roots must not become soggy and waterlogged. Having soil that is constantly over saturated with water will suffocate the roots from air and can cause the roots to rot. At this point you could take the plant out of the container and wash off all the soil on the roots and replant in fresh soil that has good drainage. As long as the soil allows good drainage and is well aerated, overwatering bamboo will not a concern.

 

[megm]

Thanks! I do not have it planted in soil, its just in water with rocks, it's always been like that, I've never used soil.

 

[oneeye]

WoW, you have had your plant in water for 12 years? How do you water your plant and what kind of water do you use? I hope you don't mind me asking megm?

 

[megm]

Yes, lucky Bamboo can grow in either water or soil. Right now I'm giving it bottled water because my filter broke and my tap water seems to have too much of something in it that it doesn't like. I just top it off with water as the level gets low. Occasionally I will clean out the pot and scrub it, if its looking dirty.

 

[oneeye]

Are you going to put it in water or try potting soil now?

 

[megm]

I am going to leave it in water.

 

[oneeye]

megm do you ever add any fertilizer to the water?

 

[megm]

No, I never have

 

[oneeye]

They do not require much fertilizer, and 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. You might still be able to save your lucky bamboo plant! If you have an aquarium with fish, you can use the dirty aquarium water to fertilize your lucky bamboo. If not, you and use a fertilizer, but you have to dilute it a lot before it is safe to use on your plants. I always use just a 10th of the manufacturer's recommendations and then cut that in 1/2 before using on my very sensitive plants. The TDS or ppm would read 80 to 120 in distilled water(very small amount) of fertilizer used. That may help you grow new foliage.

 

[oneeye]

I can give you an example of how I mix my fertilizer for very sensitive plants. Using Flora series nutrients, the manufacture recommends using 5 ml of fertilizer per gallon of water. I use 2&1/2 ml in a quart of water and that's just enough to get a reading on the TDS meter. I can use it with every watering without burning the plants.