Take Care of Bamboo Plants in Water
Bamboo is a very hardy and easy plant to take care of, especially if it's in water! A healthy ‘lucky’ bamboo should be a gorgeous deep green with a few sprouting leaves. It offers a unique visual for your home, inside or outside, and can be placed in a variety of containers. The bamboo needs water, light, and occasional nutrients to thrive. They are slow growing...but if taken care of correctly they will grow shorter, with more leaves, and its color should always be a vibrant green.
Contents
Steps
- Choose a container that is long and thin enough to hold the bamboo upright.
- Fill the container with water up to about 3 quarters full.
- If it has just been bought, you may want to add plant or aquarium food to the water before adding the bamboo. However, it's always a good idea to ask the seller how often it has been fertilized and the last time it was applied. Tips for fertilizer are below in the ‘Tips’ section.
- Place the bamboo in the water and place in a good spot around your house!
Watering
- Replace the water in the container weekly. (Throughout the week, if you see that the water has evaporated to half full or less, then add some to the existing water.)
- If it is time to use plant food, add it to the water when you are replacing it in full.
Fertilizing
- Lucky bamboo can be fertilized every 2 months or longer. It does better when it isn't fussed over. The best fertilizers to use are ‘Aquarium food drops’, ‘Green Green (commercial food, check online-it's great for all your plants)’, or ‘Miracle Grow’ (very diluted-if it says 20 drops per gallon, use just 2 drops).
Tips
Unhealthy Bamboo
- If the bamboo is yellowing, dry, or pale green-it is unhealthy. If your bamboo is somewhat YELLOW when you purchased it, or turns yellow at home, make sure you do not fertilize it!
- The first instinct is to feed it nutrients, however, the reason it is yellow is because it was over fertilized at the store! Just move it to a light source for a few days, with fresh water.
- A good tip is to use the dirty water that is being thrown out of an aquarium...lucky bamboo loves it! It will usually perk up once given light and good water, and left alone for a week.
- If it's DRY or PALE, move it to a light source for a few days and give it fresh water with plant food!
Water
- The best type of water to use when watering bamboo (or any plants) is filtered water or rainwater. If that is not convenient, fill a container with tap water and let it sit, uncovered, for 24 hours or overnight, to allow the chemicals to disperse.
Light
- Bamboo prefers an INDIRECT LIGHT source. A sunny windowsill is not bamboo friendly. They originated in the rainforest where it's shady and moist. However, they do need moderate light for optimal health.
- The only time they need direct light is when it is unhealthy. If there is no natural light available, place the bamboo near a light source, not next to it.
Warnings
- To recap: No over watering. No over fertilizing. No direct light.
