Lucky bamboo care: water, light and soil

Light

Bright, indirect light is best, Missouri Botanical Garden says, and NC State recommends the same indoors all year, with partial shade if the container spends the summer outdoors. On the Illinois Extension scale, that ranges from medium light, about 150 foot-candles a few feet back from an east or west window, up to bright light directly in front of one. Missouri Botanical Garden lists part shade to full shade as acceptable, which is why lucky bamboo survives on office desks far from the glass, although a slow grower gets slower still in dim corners.

Keep it out of direct sun, which Missouri Botanical Garden warns will scorch the foliage. Where daylight is scarce, artificial light helps: the Illinois Extension notes that plants in low light benefit from a longer day, 14 to 16 hours under lamps, but never more than 16, because plants need a dark rest period too.

Water

In a vase, the roots need something to hold. Missouri Botanical Garden says lucky bamboo grows in water as long as the roots have a substrate such as pebbles, and NC State adds that pebbles in the bottom also give the container weight so it does not tip. Use chlorine-free water and, following NC State, change it every week, which also keeps mosquitoes from breeding in standing water.

Water quality is where most lucky bamboo goes wrong. Missouri Botanical Garden lists high levels of additives such as chlorine among the causes of brown leaf tips and suggests filtered water or rainwater, and Clemson notes that the whole Dracaena genus is very sensitive to fluoride, which yellows the tips and margins. The Illinois Extension suggests letting tap water stand at least 24 hours before use and always using it at room temperature, never cold. For a plant whose roots sit in that water all week, rainwater or distilled water is the safest choice.

In soil, NC State and Missouri Botanical Garden both ask for a mix kept evenly moist. Water before the surface dries out, let the excess drain, and never leave the pot standing in a full saucer; NC State warns that overwatering yellows the leaves and rots the stems. Growth slows in winter, so the mix stays damp longer and should be checked by touch rather than watered on a fixed schedule.

Soil and pH

Potting mix is optional for this plant. NC State accepts a moist potting mix or chlorine-free water, and lists acid, neutral and alkaline soils as acceptable. For the genus, the UF/IFAS commercial guide recommends media with good aeration and a pH of 6.0 to 6.5, and Clemson gives the same range for dracaenas, advising against soils heavy in perlite to limit fluoride injury. If you pot your stems, choose an ordinary peat-based houseplant mix and a container with drainage holes. If you keep them in water, rinsed pebbles or glass gravel give the roots their anchor.

Humidity

Ordinary household humidity is enough. NC State notes that low humidity can brown the leaf tips, so a heated room in winter is the one place to act. The Illinois Extension points out that most homes fall below 30 percent humidity in winter and suggests a humidifier, a pebble tray under the pot or simply grouping plants together, which raises humidity around all of them.

Temperature

None of the sources we used gives a houseplant temperature range for lucky bamboo itself; NC State and Missouri Botanical Garden only rate it as hardy outdoors in USDA Zones 10 and above, which means frost-free climates. For the genus, the UF/IFAS commercial guide calls 70 to 80°F (21 to 27°C) the most appropriate interior temperature and says Dracaena should stay above 60°F (16°C) at all times, because chilling injury shows as slimy dead spots and heavy leaf drop. Keep the vase off cold windowsills in winter and away from heating vents and drafts.

Fertilizer

NC State recommends a weak liquid fertilizer, whether the plant grows in water or in soil. It gives no dilution, so we suggest about half the label rate as a cautious reading of weak, since a vase has no soil to buffer excess salts. The Illinois Extension's general rule for houseplants is no more than once every one to three months between March and September, and nothing in the short days of winter. Clemson warns that fertilizers containing superphosphate often carry high levels of fluorine, so check the label before adding anything to the water.

Work out the dose for your watering can with the fertilizer dilution calculator →

Repotting

A water-grown lucky bamboo only needs a wider vase once its roots fill the pebbles and crowd the glass. In soil, the Illinois Extension's signs apply: roots escaping through the drainage holes, roots on the surface, a soil mass filled with roots, and a plant that wilts between normal waterings. Move it in spring or early summer into a pot just 1 or 2 inches wider, as Clemson recommends, and replant at the same depth it grew before.

• Roots fill the pebbles or push against the sides of the vase
• In soil, roots grow through the drainage holes
• In soil, the plant wilts between normal waterings

Propagation

Stem cuttings are the recommended method at both NC State and Missouri Botanical Garden. Cut a healthy shoot with a few leaves, remove the lowest leaves, and stand it in chlorine-free water or moist mix in bright, indirect light. The Illinois Extension says cuttings are usually taken in spring or summer and can go into their own pots once the roots are about an inch long; it also describes cane cuttings for Dracaena, short sections of stem with at least two nodes. Missouri Botanical Garden suggests cutting older, lanky stems back to the base to encourage fresh growth, a simple way to renew a tired arrangement.

Methods: Stem cuttings rooted in water or moist mix, Cutting old lanky stems back to the base for new shoots · Best season: spring or summer.

Common problems

NC State lists no serious insect pests or diseases for lucky bamboo, only mealybugs, mites and scale to watch for. Its two common complaints are both about water: overwatering yellows the leaves and rots the stems, and low humidity browns the leaf tips. Missouri Botanical Garden adds that brown tips can also follow poor lighting or chlorine in the water. A stem that yellows from the base and turns soft is rotting, so pull it out of the arrangement promptly and give the others fresh water in a clean container.

Not sure which one it is? Try the plant problem diagnosis tool →

Is the lucky bamboo toxic to cats and dogs?

The ASPCA has no entry under the name lucky bamboo. Its Dracaena entry covers the genus, Dracaena spp., and lists it as toxic to cats and dogs, naming saponins as the toxic principle with vomiting (occasionally with blood), depression, anorexia, hypersalivation and, in cats, dilated pupils. NC State's own profile of Dracaena sanderiana gives the same signs, flags it as a problem for cats and dogs, rates the poison severity as low for people and notes that the sap can irritate skin. Set the vase where pets cannot reach it, and call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center if one chews the stems.

Check any other plant against the ASPCA lists →