Is my bamboo okay? I’ve been a bad plant mom.

[Guru_Prasad]

Hello everyone,,

I was so excited about how he was growing, I didn’t stop to think about how much his roots had been growing and if he was root bound. I got this bamboo about a year ago from Lowe’s as a sad little group of 4 stalks, 1 was beyond saving and I lost the other yellow rotting one a couple weeks later.

It has blossomed over the year, and grown so tall!! I was so excited that it grew so much! But then I started to worry that maybe he’s actually reaching for more sunlight? I’m not sure. I keep it in my kitchen windowsill which is under my roof overhang. So it get light but nothing directly. I’ve also noticed a few brown tips of leaves.

I’m planning on getting a larger vase for him, and I keep him in stones and only water using distilled water. I’ve never given him any plant food or fertilizer, though I’m contemplating giving him some aquarium water every now and again.

So I guess my question is, is my bamboo okay?? What can I do to improve its health????

[Jimmy Seddon · Accepted solution]

Hi @Guru_Prasad,

Welcome to the community!

As much as I would love help you, I generally end up killing most plants myself.  This is a community forum for a Software development tools and Bamboo is the name of a product that Atlassian makes which handles automatic build and deployment of software code that developers write.

You might have more luck finding someone with gardening expertise elsewhere, though I do know that there are a few members of this community who have quite the green thumb that might see this and comment one it with some advice.

[Alice M]

Everything I've learned about caring for plants, I learned from folks online.  When I bought my maidenhair fern, I learned so much from googling it. 

I don't have any bamboo, but I did a quick search and it looks like you don't even need to put it in dirt!  I didn't know that!

quick search: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+care+for+bamboo+plants

This page looks pretty helpful: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/lucky-bamboo/growing-lucky-bamboo-indoor.htm

Good luck on caring for your bamboo plant! 

[Scott Theus]

Hi @Guru_Prasad 

Finally a Bamboo question I can answer! You may have some pests living on your bamboo like mites or aphids. Try spraying it with neem oil or a similar insecticidal soap. It could also be from over watering,  bamboo is happier in slightly dry soil, watering once a week should be enough. 

Aquarium water is good for it every so often, as long as it is fresh water. 

Thanks for adding some fun to my day :)

-Scott

Edit: "fresh water" as in not a salt water aquarium.

[Monique vdB]

@Guru_Prasad I did some research on bamboo and it needs lots of room and plenty of water!  I think the size of the container will be crucial:

Ten gallons is the smallest reasonable container size, and bigger is always better. Big 25- to 30-gallon wine barrels are ideal.

[Monique vdB]

And let's not forget our recent discussion of @Samie Kaufman - Your Gal at Gliffy's cactus. I think we might need a bamboo tax in the form of a picture of this bamboo. 🎍

[Scott Theus]

+1 for the Bamboo Tax

[Samie Kaufman - Your Gal at Gliffy]

I am pro-picture as well!

I have a very small lucky bamboo plant as well (that I have successfully not killed, knock on wood). It's quite low maintenance and I've successfully propagated cuttings for a few friends! If it seems to be too big for your container, you should try cutting it and, ta-da!, more plants.

It sounds like you might have a similar plant. The trick was to make sure you cut it at the right spot so that there were multiple "joints." I recommend this article from The Spruce.

Good luck, @Guru_Prasad !