A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Something wrong w/ my Lucky Bamboo!

I've had this lucky bamboo for 1-2 years. For the past few months the leaves have turned a pale green color. Just recently, two of the older leaves yellowed and fell off, and now the newest leaf looks yellowish too. It doesn't seem to be growing anymore.

It's in my living room (where it's always been since I got it), with good light. It's potted in a watertight container with gravel inside. I fertilize every few weeks. I water every few days so the pot is completely filled with water. I checked the roots a few weeks ago and they seem to be healthy.

What's wrong? What should I do?

Thanks for any help!

What's the problem?

Things to remember about Lucky Bamboo care:

1.Use distilled water or if using tap water, let the water sit overnight to allow chlorine to evaporate. Chlorinated and/or Fluoridated water are bad for the plant.

2. The plant doesn't need fertilizing. Adding fertilizer causes accumulated salt. Salt causes chemical burn in leaves.

3. Lucky bamboos doesn't need direct sunlight. The plant can survive in low light in hallways, bathrooms, etc.

For additional info, pls. see links below:

Lucky Bamboo Plant Care 1

Lucky Bamboo Plant Care 2

Lucky Bamboo Plant Care 3

Ditto,

No fertilizer necessary, in fact could harm! Just keep the water full, distilled if possible. Bamboo of all kinds thrive in the poorest conditions. I just purchased Black Bamboo and found out that they just need protection...this is all bamboo...water is the most important component. We as gardeners want to provide the best possible conditions, however, some just thrive in the most basic of conditions...Go Figure??

Kindest Regards,
Karen

Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena Sanderiana)

Lucky Bamboo grows naturally under the canopy of wet tropical rain forests. It needs very little sunlight to thrive and does not respond well to temperatures below 60 degrees F. Lucky Bamboo must be kept moist all the time. It prefers to live in a soil mixture, as long as this soil holds a lot of water. Since neither water nor soil contains the vitamins, minerals and hormones that are found in Lucky Bamboo's natural growing environment, supplementation is recommended. One drop of each added each time the water is refreshed, is all that is needed.
If you see burning or browning on the tips of the leaves, the location may receive too much sunlight Another cause of yellowing /browning leaves is water. If you live in a city where fluoride is added to the water, or has a high chlorine or salt content, one or a combination of these factors will cause this problem. Yellowing is first seen at the tips of the leaves and then spreads throughout the whole stalk until it dies. It is vital to provide pure, clean water, either by adding an effective filtering system to your tap, or by purchasing water for this purpose. If you suspect that this is your problem, and you improve the quality of your water, allow time for healthy, new foliage to form before concluding that something else must be wrong.

Light green leaves means that it is nutrient deficent. Your plant needs to be in dirt.

I have a bamboo and I just put in a small jar/glass type thing with colored rocks and fill it up with water. I re-fill the jar when the water looks low or yucky with warm tap water and mine doesnt get much sun. And mine has been doing great for about a year now.

Mine did great for the 1st year too. By year 2, it was dying, leaves were light green, then yellow then dead. I put it in dirt, a bit too late and lost all of the origional stems. But 3 new stems have now popped-up from underneath the dirt and they are a dark, healthy green.