Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana): Care in Water and Soil

Lucky bamboo is one of the most popular green gifts, but it hides a little secret: it isn't bamboo at all. It's Dracaena sanderiana, a tropical plant grown with stripped stalks so they look like bamboo canes. Knowing this changes everything, because its care is that of a dracaena, not a grass. It's incredibly easy and can live in water for years.

In water or in soil

You can keep it two ways:

In water: the classic look, with the stalks standing on pebbles in a vase. Decorative and very easy.
In soil: it grows more vigorously and lasts longer in a free-draining mix.

If you decide to move it to soil, do it carefully so you don't damage the roots, and keep the mix lightly moist.

The key in water: water quality

This is almost the whole secret. Dracaena sanderiana is sensitive to the chlorine and fluoride in tap water, which scorch its leaf tips.

Use filtered water, rainwater, or tap water left out for 24 hours (so the chlorine evaporates).
Change the water every 1-2 weeks so it doesn't cloud over or grow algae.
Always keep the roots covered: 1-2 inches of water is enough.

Light

It wants bright, indirect light. Direct sun scorches its leaves and bleaches the stalks.

Too much shade: it grows stretched, pale and weak.
Direct sun: scorched tips and leaves.

A bright spot out of direct sun, such as near a curtained window, is ideal.

Temperature

Keep it in a warm, stable environment between 65 and 75 °F, away from cold drafts and the direct blast of heating or air conditioning.

Feeding

In water, the plant gets no nutrients from soil, so it appreciates a drop of very dilute liquid fertilizer (a quarter of the dose) every few weeks in spring and summer. Without feeding it will slowly yellow.

Arranging and curving the stalks

The spirals you see in shops are not natural: they're made by growing the stalk toward the light and rotating it little by little, a long, manual process. At home you can group several stalks and tie them with ribbon or wire to make arrangements, but don't expect them to curl on their own.

Propagation

You can make more plants from a healthy stalk. Cut a section that includes at least one node (the ring where leaves emerge), remove the lowest leaves, and stand it in clean water in bright, indirect light. Roots usually appear within a few weeks. Once they're a couple of inches long, you can keep it in water or pot it up in soil. Note that a cut top won't regrow from the same point, but the parent stalk will often push out a new side shoot below the cut.

The meaning of the stalks

Much of its popularity comes from feng shui, where the number of stalks is linked to different wishes. The most common are:

3 stalks: happiness, wealth and long life.
5 stalks: balance across the different areas of life.
8 stalks: prosperity and growth.

Symbolism aside, grouping several stalks simply looks great. Whatever the number, the care is exactly the same.

Common problems

Brown tips: chlorine or fluoride in tap water, or very dry air. Switch to left-out or filtered water.
Yellow stalks or leaves: too much sun, overfeeding, or stagnant, dirty water. If a whole stalk yellows from the base, it's usually a goner.
Cloudy or smelly water: not enough water changes; clean it out and refresh.

Not sure whether the yellowing is from water, light or feeding? Upload a photo to our AI diagnosis tool to narrow down the cause. And since it's really a dracaena, our Dracaena care guide will come in handy.