How To Grow Lucky Bamboo Plant?

Gardening

oi-Anwesha Barari

By Anwesha Barari

Saturday, September 10, 2011, 13:57

To grow bamboo plant in your house is a trend that has picked up recently. Put the plant that is being grown in water bowls with a red ribbon around it, the so called lucky bamboo plant is botanically not a bamboo plant. It is in fact a resistant variety of Lilly family of plants. That explains the flower like delicacy in it. Growing bamboo indoors has been a common practice for centuries but here we will talk only about these special misnomer of lucky bamboo plants that are such a rage these days.

Soil:

• To grow bamboo you can use soil but this particular variety grows better in water.
• The water needs to be about 1 inch at the base of the shoots.
• Don't keep it immersed in too much water lest the tender stems rot.
• The water has to be changed regularly. The plants wither away if the water is very stale. You need to change the water weekly at the most.
• If you grow the bamboo plant in soil then it grows taller and bigger because it gets more nutrition from the soil. However, if you are growing it as a Feng Shui plant then you have to grow it in water.
• As you know Feng Shui is the science of bringing the positive energy of earth, water, fire and wind together. The miniature shoots of bamboo with a red ribbon tied around has deep meaning in the science of Feng Shui. It is the growing power of earth and water with the 'red' of the ribbon standing for fire.
• You can use cuttings from this plant i.e., the young shoots to grow more bamboo plants outdoors in a pot. You can latter transfer it to a water bowl if your original plant dies.

Light:

• This is a perfect variety of indoor bamboo. That is because they shy away from direct sunlight and love darkness. They originally grew in the dark forests of the East with hardly any sunlight to talk of.
• That is why it is better to grow it indoors than outdoors as a potted plant. With too much harsh sunlight the leaves will yellow and wilt.
• So make sure you grow bamboo plant where it get lots of indirect sunlight and stays safely away from open sun.

Nutrition:

• To grow bamboo you need a fair amount of 'food' normally but with this variety it is not advisable. This is because the whole idea is to keep it short. You should not try to grow it too tall. Or else it becomes difficult to maintain as an indoor plant.
• However, don't just use plain tap water to feed it. It may be too alkaline or acidic or full of impurities. Use filtered or mineral water. You can also use natural water from wells.

There gardening tips will help you grow lucky bamboo plants at home and also care for them.