Houseplant · Asparagaceae
Lucky Bamboo
Dracaena sanderiana
Give it clean water and soft, indirect light, and this forgiving Dracaena will happily reward you for years.
Bright indirect
Every 7 days
64–75°F · 18–24°C
USDA 10–12
Overview
If you have been nervous about keeping a houseplant alive, lucky bamboo is a wonderful place to begin, and it forgives the odd slip. It is not really bamboo at all but Dracaena sanderiana, a gentle tropical cousin of the corn plant that simply grows in jointed green stalks. Many people train those stalks into curls, spirals, and braids, then rest them in a little dish of water and pebbles on a desk or sunny sill.
One of its most reassuring tricks is that it will happily grow in plain water with no soil to fuss over. Settle the roots among pebbles or marbles, keep the lower stem under the water, and it carries on contentedly with very little from you. It also copes with low light far better than most, which is why it thrives in offices and quiet corners where a fussier plant would sulk.
There is really only one thing it minds, and once you know it you are set: it dislikes the fluoride and chlorine in ordinary tap water, which can brown its leaf tips. Sort the water out, offer it bright indirect light, and you will find lucky bamboo about as close to foolproof as a plant gets.
Care
The short version: give it bright indirect light, clean water with no fluoride or chlorine, and the warm indoor temperatures you already keep. Stand it in pebbles and water or a well-drained mix, freshen the water each week, and offer a gentle feed through spring and summer.
Light
Lucky bamboo is happiest in bright, indirect light, roughly the glow a step back from an east or north window. It will keep going in low light and shade far more gracefully than most houseplants, but hot direct sun will scorch its leaves, so do keep it off a baking sill.
Water
Grow it in chlorine-free water with pebbles or marbles cradling the roots, or in a steadily moist mix, always keeping the roots and lower stem under the surface. Because it is sensitive to fluoride, chlorine, and salts, reach for distilled, filtered, or rainwater, or let tap water sit out for a day or two first. Freshen the water weekly to keep it clean and to keep mosquitoes away.
Soil
Should you prefer to pot it up, choose a well-drained, loam-based mix meant for indoor or tropical plants. It is easygoing about pH, taking anything from 6.0 to 8.0, and it is just as content with no soil at all, standing happily in plain chlorine-free water and pebbles.
Temperature
It likes the warm, steady comfort of a normal room, somewhere around 64°F to 75°F (18°C to 24°C). Being tropical, it has no patience for cold, so bring any outdoor display back inside well before the nights start to chill.
Humidity
Ordinary indoor air suits it nicely, so there is no humidity target to chase. Very dry air may brown the leaf tips a touch, but do not fret over it, because water quality matters far more to this plant than humidity ever could.
Feeding
Offer a light meal through the growing season, from spring into summer, using a weak liquid houseplant fertilizer. If yours grows in water, feed only about every other month at roughly a quarter of the labeled rate, since it truly needs very little to stay well.
Pruning
Snip away any yellowed or damaged stalks and leaves whenever you spot them. To keep the height in check, cut a stem just above a node, which coaxes out fresh shoots, and the pieces you remove can be rooted into brand new cuttings.
Repotting
Move it up a pot size every 1 to 2 years, or sooner if the roots begin to crowd or circle the container or fill the vase. Slower growth and a knot of roots are its polite way of asking for more room, while water-grown displays simply want a refresh as they fill in.
Size & spacing
Indoors it grows to about 3 to 5 feet (91 to 152 cm) tall and nearly as wide, though most people happily keep it shorter with a little trimming. Its pace is slow, so give it a little room and let it settle in over time rather than expecting a sudden burst.
Troubleshooting
The good news is that lucky bamboo lets you know early when it needs a hand, and its leaves are the first to speak up. Brown tips and yellow stalks are the two things you are most likely to notice, and both usually come back to the water. Find your symptom below, then treat the real cause and you will have it happy again in no time.
A stalk or leaves turning yellow
When a stalk or its leaves go yellow, the usual culprit is too much water sitting stale, and sometimes a spot that is a touch too dark. Left in old, still water, a stem can soften and rot down at the base, so this one is worth catching early. Gently lift out the affected stalk, freshen the water each week with only the roots and lower stem under the surface, move it somewhere brighter but out of direct sun, and offer a very weak feed to help it bounce back.
Fix:
- Remove yellowing or rotting stalks
- Change the water weekly and keep only roots plus the lower stem submerged
- Provide bright indirect light and a weak fertilizer
Brown, crispy tips on the leaves
Take heart, because brown tips are almost always just tip burn from tap water and not a sign you have done anything wrong. Your plant is a Dracaena, and that family reacts to the fluoride, chlorine, and salts in city water, which gather at the leaf edges and dry them out. Move over to distilled, filtered, or rainwater, or leave tap water sitting out for a day or two, keep it clear of hot sun, and the newer growth will come in clean.
Fix:
- Switch to distilled, filtered, or rainwater, or let tap water stand uncovered 1-2 days before use
- Change water-grown plants' water weekly
- Move out of direct sun into bright indirect light
Toxicity
This is one to set gently out of a pet's reach. Lucky bamboo carries saponins, and the ASPCA marks it toxic to cats and dogs, which can lead to vomiting, drooling, and a quiet, off-color mood if they chew it. There is no worry for people, and it is not something anyone eats, though the sap may leave tender skin a little irritated, so wash your hands after pruning.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Moderate
If a cat chews a stalk, the saponins tend to bring on vomiting that can carry a little blood, along with drooling and a quiet, withdrawn manner. A hungry cat that eats more may lose its appetite and show noticeably wider pupils, so a call to the vet is worthwhile.
Dogs Moderate
A dog that gnaws the leaves or stalks usually drools a good deal and throws up, now and then with a trace of blood. Do not be alarmed if it also seems off its food and low in energy for a while afterward.
Horses Caution
The saponins that trouble cats and dogs make a stalk a poor choice for a horse as well, so it is kindest to keep any within reach out of the way. A nibble would most likely leave the stomach unsettled.
Rabbits Caution
A rabbit should never treat this as a snack, since the saponins can upset its delicate digestion. Tuck away any dropped leaf or trimmed stalk so a grazing bunny cannot reach it.
Livestock Caution
Farm animals can get a sour stomach from the saponins, even though a houseplant like this rarely crosses their path. To be safe, keep clippings well clear of any place where stock might wander.
Birds Caution
A pet bird that pecks at a stalk could end up with a queasy stomach from the saponins, so it is gently kept off limits. Setting the plant where feathered friends cannot reach it saves any worry.
People Safe
You can relax around this one, since it poses no real danger to people and is not something anyone would eat. Its sap does leave some skin a little tender, so a quick handwash after pruning or repotting is all it asks.
Sap may cause minor skin irritation in people; wash hands after handling.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
United Kingdom
Animal PoisonLine: 01202 509000 (fee applies)
Australia
Animal Poisons Helpline: 1300 869 738
Varieties
Lucky bamboo does not come as a long list of named cultivars so much as one friendly plant shown off in a couple of ways. Here are the two forms you are most likely to bring home.
Braided / spiral lucky bamboo
The curled, spiraled, and braided shapes you see are simply young Dracaena sanderiana stems patiently trained toward the light, and not a different plant at all.
Variegated lucky bamboo
This charming form wears soft cream or gold stripes drawn along its slim green leaves.
How to propagate
Making more lucky bamboo is a lovely, low-stress project, and you already own everything you need. A trimmed stem and a clean glass of water are truly all it takes to grow another one.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring through summer during active growth · Roots usually form in about 2-3 weeks
You will find this plant kind to beginners when it comes to making more. During spring or summer, while it is growing well, snip a healthy new shoot from the main stem just above a node, pull off the lowest leaves, and stand the piece in chlorine-free water. Roots tend to appear in about 2 to 3 weeks, and once they do you can simply leave the cutting in water or settle it into a pot.
Myths
Lucky bamboo is a kind of bamboo.
It is easy to assume from the name and those jointed stalks that this is bamboo, but it truly is not, and it has nothing to do with the grasses. It is Dracaena sanderiana, a Dracaena in the family Asparagaceae, sitting far nearer to the corn plant on your shelf than to any forest bamboo.