Propagating lucky Bamboo

[jsm11482]

Hi, I bought four shoots of bamboo this past summer and was wondering what species they are and what tips I could get on growing them. I live in Burlington Vermont US and bought the shoots from Price Chopper. right now they are about a foot high and half an inch in diameter with a separation thingy about every 2 inches. They are light green in color except for just above and below the seperation things, where they are dark green. There are roots growing from the bottoms of them but they don't seem to be growing very fast. I was told to put them in a container with just water and not in direct sunlight, so I did. Still, they seem to be growing very slowly.

Any ideas? I will try to post a pic at some point tho I don't have a camera available to me at this time.
Thanks,
Josh

[jsm11482]

Very similar to these: http://davesgarden.com/pdb/showimage/12573/

[Mark Meckes]

Hi Josh,
Well you got bamboozled if you were told it was bamboo!
Call it a pseudobamboo... it's stems have the appearance of bamboo and they are beautiful plants!

Here's another thread about Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) and pests? (http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/showthread.php?t=714)

I had one and it was pretty slow growing for me. If the water gets too cold (Vermont winter?), it might hamper it.
It may need some diluted fertilizer...
Cheers,
Mark

[jsm11482]

Thanks for the reply! I don't quite understand how they can call something bamboo if its not but oh well. It looks nice and I don't have to do anything to keep it alive so it works for me for now. Is it ok to have the shoots just sitting in water or should I get some marbles/stones for it? Also I heard that cutting the shoots at certain points would encourage growth, do you know anything abou that. One more thing ;) what type of sun light should I have it in?
Thanks,
Josh

[Mark Meckes]

Hi Josh, I don't know much about the plant...ours eventually lost it's vigour after about 3 years, and I think it had most to do with not being in enough light. It doesn't like full sun, but a light bulb in our ceiling 8 feet away wasn't enough to keep it's vigour either, though it's amazing how long they'll hang on without much light.
We moved it around to different rooms/windows during that time and it preferred the bathroom the most.

Let us know if you find anything more about this plant.
There's quite a few different varieties of Dracaena.

Mark

[jeff_see]

i got some lucky bamboo from ikea and i would like to know if i could cut the top to continue growing of the main stock. also if i did cut the top would it need dirt to grow or anything else?

thanx

[helpme]

Did you try this? I have heard that the stock would not continue to grow after you cut it. WHat I would like to know is how you get it to grow into the shapes and how to make it continue to grow in these shapes.

[bettyboopminpin]

Hi, I don't know what kind of bamboo you have, but with Lucky Bamboo, once it is cut,which is generally what you get, does not grow taller. The shoots[leaves] will grow thicker,but are very slow growing. When they get stalk size, you can cut them at the base where they started growing, and put in distilled water. They should root up. You can find some not cut but usually expensive. You do not grow in dirt. Distilled water is preferred. No direct sunlight. You can use marbles or pebbles, usually can buy at Walmart or Hobby Lobby to accent the plants, or the gel. Non toxic. Some leaves will turn yellow, you can usually trim them off. If the plant starts turning yellow, you can cut under the yellow, sometimes this will save the plant. Hope this helps.

[helpme]

Yes, It is Lucky Bamboo. I have gotten that far. I have a couple of shoots that are growing leaves and I have rooted those as you said in water with rocks. Now I am getting really brave and would like to try and shape these so that the actual stalks, as they get thicker, would twist into different shapes. I have worked with bonsai trees before and I know that you can shape them with wire and such. I was not sure how you would do something like that with the bamboo.
thanks. :)

[helpme]

I am reposting this question as I never got a reply,
I didn't know if anyone knows how to do this?

[Mark Meckes]

Hi C,
I was wondering about this too, when you asked this, and did an extensive google search, to find nothing about training lucky bamboo.
Other dracaena species, especially the more woody varieties need to be trained early on and as they grow.

So here's a theory about shaping lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana).
- They first grow the lucky bamboo stalks in a crowded environment so they grow tall and more spindly. Upon reaching the desired height, the lower leaves are stripped and the bending and plaiting is all done at one time, possibly by placing the pieces in warm water first to make them more supple.

Just a theory now...

Of course a single stalk could be shaped at any time during it's growth and the method of training would depend on the desired shape.

Mark

[onlythis once]

I found this via a google search - and I happen to know the answer :)

To twist and shape the "lucky bamboo" they let nature do the shaping. They encase it in a box with one side left open. it will grow towards the light, thus bending the bamboo. It takes approxamately 1 year to complete a single curve.

[Tatty]

Is the lucky bamboo the same as "heteroclada" I found a small kind of bamboo that growths near the rivers and it looks like that one but im not sure is the same. The nodes are the same like the heteroclada but kind of hard when you try to bend.

[Mark Meckes]

Hi Tatty, I can see how you were wondering if they were related, because Phyllostachys heteroclada can grow in wetter conditions, (though not in water alone), and Lucky Bamboo can grow in water.
However Lucky Bamboo isn't a bamboo at all (It's a Dracaena sanderiana), where as P. heteroclada species really are bamboos belonging to the Genus Phyllostachys


Here's this post Phyllostachys heteroclada (http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1138#post1138) (also known as Phyllostachys purpurata`Straightstem') - NE Pennsylvania USA 2001

I'll upload some more Phyllostachys heteroclada pics soon.

If you can take pictures of the bamboo that you mentioned growing near streams, Start a New Thread here in the Growing Bamboo Forum (you could call it - Bamboo ID?) and upload the pics into a message, and we will try and identify it.

Cheers,
Mark

[grandpa]

how or what to add to water in order to produce rich green shoots??

[Mark Meckes]

I've read somewhere to give it diluted fertilizer occasionally.
Anyone here know what type (N-P-K) of fertilizer and dosage is best for lucky bamboo (dracaena)?

Mark

[dvarisco]

I am reposting this question as I never got a reply,
I didn't know if anyone knows how to do this?


I can share the time-consuming way I know to shape Lucky Bamboo- as it begins to reach towards sun, turn the pot so it faces opposite direction. Allow it to grow a bit and then turn it each time . It will corkscrew if done correctly.

[lisa]

I've read somewhere to give it diluted fertilizer occasionally.
Anyone here know what type (N-P-K) of fertilizer and dosage is best for lucky bamboo (dracaena)?

Mark

I have read on another site that you can use any organic ferterlizer but you use it only 1 10th as strong as the directions tell you to.