If you already own a lucky bamboo but are struggling with jaundice, black leaf ends, or something similar. Or the most common problem, lucky bamboo turning yellow. You will find here information about signals your plant is sending you with the lucky bamboo turning yellow.
It is really important to learn to recognize the reasons why your lucky bamboo plant is not happy, why is the lucky bamboo turning yellow and that is quite simple.
In this article, we will talk about why is lucky bamboo turning yellow and how to prevent or cure it. And how to lead it to have healthy plant life.
For you to know how to treat your lucky bamboo plant adequately, we will first try to give you more information so that you can get to know your entire plant better.
We have written the answers to all the questions and concerns you may have related to the cultivation of this plant, which according to folk beliefs brings good luck!
Lucky Bamboo Plants
Although everyone assumes that it is from the bamboo family, it is not. Nor is it related to the true bamboo. Lucky bamboos are not from bamboo species.
It is a sort of succulent and its botanical name is Dracaena sanderiana.
It originates from West Africa and Eastern Asia. There is a popular belief that this plant is responsible for good luck, prosperity, and good feng shui.
If you want to have this extremely interesting plant, today it is easy to find in any flower shop. This plant can be shaped in different ways during its healthy growth, so you can find the lucky bamboo plants in various shapes.
What Does A Lucky Bamboo Plant Look Like?
Lucky bamboo is a plant of simple appearance, and at the same time, it is very interesting. It is characterized by a bare branch that has thin oblong green leaves at its end.
Those leaves that are at the end, grow into a stem over time. When the lucky bamboo leaves have grown into a stem, you can cut them at the bottom, ie to the parent stem, and put them in distilled water to get more bamboo.
Healthy plants as they grow, you can manage them and determine how they will grow.
What Kind Of Care Does A Lucky Bamboo Require?
It is a plant that requires very little care. It does not belong in the group of sensitive plants. You almost can’t destroy it.
All it needs is filtered water or distilled water and a warm place, and that’s it. Yes, you read that right. This plant does not need soil, and therefore you do not need to fertilize it. But you can keep it also in soil.
It is important to emphasize that you always use purified or distilled water because tap water, stagnant water, or even bottled water can damage your lucky bamboo plant.
Any other water can cause an accumulation of minerals in the container in which you keep your lucky bamboo, and this is harmful to it.
So, simply place your plant in a place where it is dimly lit, and pour approximately 1 inch of distilled or purified water into the container in which it is located.
How Often Do I Water My Bamboo Plant?
You need to pay attention to the freshwater you give to this plant. Lucky bamboo is very sensitive to various chemicals that can be found in tap water and can also be found in bottled water.
So make sure you always give your plant distilled or purified water, or tap water that has stayed long enough to evaporate the chlorine.
If you keep your lucky bamboo in water, you should change it once every 7 days. In this way, you will prevent any disease of the plant.
If the water does not change, unpleasant odors can occur from algae. Healthy bamboo roots are red.
How Much Light Should A Lucky Bamboo Get?
Lucky bamboo prefers bright indirect light, but by no means direct sunlight, that is too much sun. It would be ideal if you can place it in a bright place out of direct sunlight, or indirect sunlight near a sunny window.
Too much direct sunlight evokes extreme heat, which can damage and burn the plant quickly.
If you can’t find such a place, it can handle a place where the lighting is dimmer. It will be better to withstand low light, and indirect sunlight than to put it in a place where the light is too strong.
As we have already mentioned, this plant is not difficult to maintain and it is almost impossible to destroy.
If it lacks light, the bamboo stalk will start to stretch or the color will fade. Telling you to move it near a bright window, or to a place where it will get more indirect light.
Why Is My Lucky Bamboo Turning Yellow?
Luckily, the turned yellow stem and yellow leaf is sending you some signals. The yellowness of this plant, and the plant’s yellow parts are an alarm to the rescue.
It is up to you to assess the cause of why your plant may be dying and why it has a yellow part after a yellow part. Learn how to save your dying lucky bamboo plant. So let us read the symbols that your lucky bamboo turning yellow is sending.
Fertilizer Cause Of Yellowing Bamboo Plant
If your lucky bamboo plant has yellow stems, it means that you have used too much fertilizer. Bamboo is one of the few plants that require almost no fertilization. Nor solid, organic compost, or liquid fertilizer.
They can grow for years without feeding them at all. In addition to yellowing the stem, excessive fertilizer can lead to yellow leaves.
If you want to fertilize this plant, then make sure that this fertilizer is intended for lucky bamboo.
If you do not want the stems and leaves to yellow, then do it only with a specially designed fertilizer for lucky bamboo, and you do that rarely and in small doses.
Water Cause Of Lucky Bamboo Turning Yellow
Water plays the most important role in the development of your plant, whether you keep it in a vase with water, soil, gravel, or pebbles.
In this regard, we have repeatedly emphasized that it is extremely important to pay attention to the fact that you always give your plant only distilled or purified water.
Unfortunately, exposing your plant to harmful chemicals that can be found in low-quality water will kill it. Always pay attention to water quality.
In addition, if you are collecting rainwater, you can also use it to water lucky bamboo. What you need to pay attention to, is that this water does not come through the roof or gutters so as not to be contaminated.
If you own an aquarium, do not hesitate to occasionally add water from the aquarium because fish waste becomes a fertilizer that is suitable for the lucky bamboo plant. So water can be a cause of your lucky bamboo turning yellow.
You Water The Bamboo With Water That Is Not The Right Temperature!
The water you add to your bamboo plant, whether you change it completely or just top it up, should be at room temperature. Otherwise, it can be the cause of your lucky bamboo turning yellow.
If you add fresh water that is too cold, that can also be the reason why is your lucky bamboo turning yellow. Always make sure the water stays at room temperature for at least a few hours before using it for bamboo.
In addition to the purity and temperature of the water, one of the causes may be that you do not change the water often enough.
Freshwater is vital for the healthy development of lucky bamboo plants. Always keep in mind that you need to change the water regularly.
Water that stays for too long is suitable for the development of bacteria and fungi. Freshwater provides food, oxygen, and nitrogen to the bamboo plant. So that it can not lead to nutrient deficiency.
You should change the water once a week or at most once every two weeks. If you notice that the water has changed its appearance and color, or may stink, replace it immediately.
If the bamboo is in a pot with stones, rinse it thoroughly if you notice any algae or other changes.
The amount of water in the pot in which the plant is located should be 1 to 2 inches or as much as is enough to cover the roots of the bamboo plant.
Light – Direct Sunlight Cause Of Leaf Discoloration And The Lucky Bamboo Turning Yellow
If you notice that the leaves of your lucky bamboo are turning yellow, as if they have been burned, it means that direct light is reaching it. This results in yellowing leaves and your lucky bamboo turning yellow.
Bamboo can’t stand such strong light and you should move it. It is best to place it in a place that is in the shade, but it can also withstand places where there is not so much light.
If the plant does not get enough light, it will let you know because its color will become paler.
Improper Temperature Cause Of Lucky Bamboo Turning Yellow
If none of the causes listed above is the cause of why your lucky bamboo is turning yellow, the temperature of the room in which it is located may not suit it.
Bamboo is not suitable for a room that is too hot or too cold. It thrives best in rooms where the temperature is between 65 ° F and 90 ° F.
Yellow Lucky Bamboo Stalk – Lucky Bamboo Turning Yellow
Having listed the essential features related to lucky bamboo, let us mention what arises as a frequently asked question: Why is my lucky bamboo turning yellow?
There are several reasons, and it is important to learn them to be able to preserve your plant. If you notice these changes, the most important thing is to look for the cause in time.
The reasons why your lucky bamboo turns yellow can be these four: light, fertilizer, water, or temperature. All the above is explained in detail.
Prune Lucky Bamboo Turning Yellow
If yellow leaves have appeared on the plant, it is best to cut them with sterile scissors. This is common with too much light or too much water if bamboo is in the soil.
How To Revive My Entire Plant? Is There Hope For A Lucky Bamboo Turning Yellow?
If you want to save lucky bamboo from turning yellow try one of the following recommendations. If your bamboo started to turn yellow, try everything before you decide to throw it away.
Immediately Change The Water In Which The Dying Lucky Bamboo Is Located
This is the first thing you will do if the plant turns yellow. This may work, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it will always work.
It all depends on whether the plant is already too poisoned by chemicals from the water it previously took.
Lucky Bamboo Turning Yellow – Transplant It Into Dirt
If the plant has started to turn yellow, to die due to too much fertilizer, this is a way to save it. Simply transplant it into new soil to which no fertilizer has been added.
This method can only succeed if the plant has not absorbed too many chemicals from fertilizers that have been overused.
Change The Location Of Your Lucky Bamboo Turning Yellow
If your plant has started to turn yellow, to die because it has been exposed to direct sunlight, move it to a place that is in the shade. Such excessive light destroys lucky bamboo.
How Do I Shape Lucky Bamboos And Do I Prune Them?
Although the first thought of shaping is tying and using wire to form a shape, this is not the case.
You will shape your lucky bamboo by turning it from time to time, and it develops in the direction where the light is coming from.
You need to know that this is a lengthy process and that if you intend to do it at home, you need to have a lot of patience.
This was about shaping the plant, and now we will say a few things about pruning.
When we are talking about pruning, it is different from pruning other plants. As we mentioned earlier in the text, the leaves that are at the end of the bamboo eventually grow into new shoots, ie stems.
You can cut these new stems using sterile scissors and put the part you cut in a new container with distilled or purified water to get new lucky bamboo.
In this way, you will at the same time contribute to the shaping of the parent plant, and also propagate lucky bamboo.
What is important to mention is that you should not prune the parent plant at the top, because that will stop its growth.
So you can only prune new shoots. You cut the new shoots to about 1 inch from the parent plant.
Cutting will not prevent further growth of the shoots in the same place, so if you do not want them to grow in the same place, you can prevent this by dipping the place where you cut the shoot in paraffin or candle wax.
How To Propagate A Lucky Bamboo?
The propagation of lucky bamboo is very simple. Using sterile scissors, cut new shoots about 1 inch from the parent plant and place them in a new container with distilled or purified water.
The part you cut goes into the water, i.e. as much water as needed to cover the bottom of the cut part.
Change the water periodically to keep it fresh. The process of root formation takes about a month, and after that, you can transfer it to a nicer pot and enjoy the new plant!
It’s a great thing that you can shape it yourself as it evolves.
Can Lucky Bamboo Be Grown In Soil?
Although you have mostly seen lucky bamboo standing in pots of water, it can also be grown in soil and even in gravel.
If you decide on this option, you should know that it needs well-drained potted soil. The soil in which it is located should be slightly moist with good drainage and low humidity.
Lucky Bamboo Plant Diseases
Lucky Bamboo Insect Infestation
It is not uncommon for bugs to appear on houseplants, especially powdery mildew or spider mites.
You can remove them by hand, and also, what you can do is dilute with water a very mild liquid soap and wash the whole lucky bamboo.
What is important if you wash lucky bamboo is to rinse it very thoroughly with water.
Lucky Bamboo Leaves Tips Are Browning
As we have already mentioned, it is very important to pay attention to the water you give to your lucky bamboo.
If you are not careful, and you have used tap water in addition to distilled or purified water, this can happen.
The brown ends of the leaves appear due to the action of chlorine or other chemicals that can be found in tap water.
How do I cure this?
Simply take sterile scissors and remove the brown leaves. It is important to remove them from the water in time so that they do not rot and pollute the water and the rest of the plant.
Algae In Lucky Bamboo Plant Water
If you notice algae in the water or on the walls of the vase, this is nothing to worry about. This phenomenon occurs because bamboo is in a transparent glass vase. Algae and fungal growth commonly appear in stagnant water.
The penetration of light through a transparent container allows the development of algae. If that bothers you, simply clean it and then put the bamboo back in.
If it bothers you, you may want to consider transferring your plant to a container that is not transparent. Also, you need to know that algae cause an unpleasant odor.
Lucky Bamboo Plants Are Not So Lucky With Black Roots
If the roots are slimy, soft, and black, the roots are rotten. You can also notice rotten roots if the plant is in the ground.
If you see lucky bamboo leaves turn yellow, you should take them out of the pot and inspect them. You can save your plant if you detect this problem early.
If this happens, the best thing you can do is take sterile scissors and cut off the black root rot and place the plant in a pot with new water.
A healthy root of this plant is red or orange. Root rot will turn yellow.
Lucky Bamboo Turning Yellow – Stalks Rotting
If whole stems turn black and rot, it is too late to save the plant. This is already showing signs that the roots have died or rotted.
Root rot can happen for several reasons. First of which is water that is not of good quality, and there may be bacteria or fungi that attacked the plant before you got it.
If your lucky bamboo turning yellow has more stems, and only some are rotten, you can save the healthy ones by transferring them to a container with freshly distilled or purified water.
That is it about theß lucky bamboo turning yellow! We hope you had fun, and have learned something new!
