A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Need advice on a dying bamboo plant

So I've had this bamboo plant for about 3 years and when it was given to me, it was placed in pebbles with water to the rim of the pot.
Recently, my cat chewed all of the leaves off of it and since then, it hasn't been the same. I cut the chewed leaves off of it and about a week later it started turn yellow.
I don't have it placed in direct sunlight and I change the water regularly. The leaves don't seem to be growing back and it starting to turn more yellow. I looked up that you could get fertilizer for water plants at any pet store and that will help it get more nutrients. Does any one have any suggestions? Please help!
[image]http://pinterest.com/pin/14144186302514241/

I can't help, because I have never had bamboo.
But, wanted to welcome you to the forum.
Hope someone comes by and sees this that can give you some advice.


Cindy

i'm so sorry about your bamboo. I have a bamboo plant but it's never went through the trama you are describing. I bet bill would know. I hope he sees this.

Without any leaves, your poor plant looks a lot closer to "dead" than "dying." But don't bury it quite yet - with a little knowledge and a little work, you might be able to save it.

First thing to know is this is not a bamboo! This is a type of dracaena, a relative of the corn plant, called a sanderiana. Second, it is not a water plant! Some years ago, some growers got the bright idea of marketing sanderiana cuttings rooted in water under the name Lucky Bamboo. They are among the few types of plants that can stay rooted in water for years, but they're not really water plants.

So the first thing to do if you have a lucky bamboo that you want to keep, is to take it out of the pebbles and water, and plant it into soil. Use a fairly small pot, not much bigger than the amount of roots you have, and use a fast-draining, coarse soil; cactus soil is acceptable, or mix up your own coarse soil.

Now, since your plant has lost all its leaves, if it's to live, it's going to have to make new ones. Pushing enough energy all the way to the top of that stalk to make leaves is going to be next to impossible, so you need to cut back the stem. I would cut it into 2 or 3 pieces, the first about 2" above the roots, the rest of the pieces around 3" long. Plant the piece with roots carefully into the soil, then stick the other pieces about 1"into the soil. Keep the soil slightly damp, and be patient. If there's any life in the stem pieces, you'll eventually get new leaves.

You might want to do some research on rooting cuttings. Good luck.

Thank you so much for the information. I'm going to use some of my grit to transplant my lucky bamboo. By the way does it ever flower?

Dracaenas do flower, so it might eventually. They need to have several years of growth on them, and have quite a bit of light (not direct sunlight though.)

General information, perfectly given. Good job, theficuswrangler!

They're correct. First and foremost you have to know that it's not bamboo. Unless I have some incorrect information remembered, bamboo can grow in direct sunlight. That little plant you have there (the dracaena), cannot stand direct sunlight. The whole "Lucky Bamboo" name is commercialized to sell the product and they put it into the water so that its life will be prolonged during shipping and store shelf life. You can buy a lot of these plants under $10 at Wal-Mart. Get that plant out of that water and into some soil! As they can live for years in water.. they will live even longer, grow better, and be overall healthier if you put them into soil.