Lucky Bamboo
Dracaena sanderiana (now D. braunii; not a true bamboo)
Through the year 🗓️
🍂 Fall now
Change the water every 2 weeks and keep it away from cold windows as the nights cool.
❄️ Winter
Keep it above 60 °F and out of drafts, change the water every 2–3 weeks, and skip the feed.
🌱 Spring
Refresh the water and rinse the pebbles. A good time to cut tall stems back and root the tops.
☀️ Summer
Growth is quickest: top up the water as it evaporates and change it every week or so.
The details
Light & placement
- Light
- Low to bright indirect; direct sun scorches the leaves yellow
- Ideal PPFD
- 75–200 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹
- Grow-light distance
- 20–28 in below LED
Water & feed
- Watering method
- In water: keep the roots covered by 1–2 in and swap in fresh water every 1–2 weeks. Filtered, rain or rested tap water is best, since fluoride and chlorine brown the tips. In soil: water when the top inch dries.
- Fertilizer
- Very little: one drop of liquid houseplant feed (or a lucky-bamboo feed) in the water every 2 months. More burns the roots and feeds algae.
Home & habit
- Soil
- Grown in water with pebbles, or in a well-draining houseplant mix
- Humidity
- Average; not fussy
- Temperature
- 65–90 °F; damaged below 50 °F
- Mature size
- Stems 6 in to 3 ft, depending on how it's cut and trained
- Repotting
- Clean the container and pebbles when you change the water; move it to soil any time
- Propagation
- Cut a stem top with a node or two and stand it in fresh water; roots appear in a few weeks.
When something looks wrong
- Overwatering signs
- In soil, yellow, mushy stems and a sour smell; in water, yellow stalks or black, slimy roots
- Underwatering signs
- Brown, crispy leaf tips and edges, or water that has dropped below the roots
- Common pests
- Rarely bothered; mealybugs or spider mites now and then; algae in the water
Common problems 🩺
The usual suspects when Lucky Bamboo looks unhappy. Most houseplant trouble is watering or light, not disease — see all plant problems if you are not sure which plant is the culprit.
A stalk turning yellow
Likely cause
Rot from stale water, too much fertilizer, or chlorine and fluoride in tap water.
What to do
Remove yellow stalks (they won't green up again), scrub the container, and refill with filtered or rested water. Skip feeding for a few months.
Brown leaf tips
Likely cause
Fluoride or chlorine in tap water, or very dry air.
What to do
Switch to filtered, rain or distilled water and trim the brown with clean scissors.
Slimy, smelly water or black roots
Likely cause
Water left too long, so bacteria and algae build up.
What to do
Rinse the roots, trim any black ones, scrub the container and pebbles, and change the water every 1–2 weeks from now on.
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