Q&A for How to Grow Lucky Bamboo

Yes, that should be fine. Rinse whatever stones you choose with distilled water before adding them to your container.

Yes, the leaves are mildly toxic. I recommend putting your lucky bamboo on a shelf out of reach of your cats.

I would recommend leaving the bands on to provide stability for the stalks. If it really bothers you, make sure the stalks are firmly rooted into your soil/rocks before removing the band. This could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

Pour all the water out and replace it with distilled water. Don't add any fertilizer or anything else to the new water. Sometimes plants with yellow stalks can be saved, sometimes not. If yours continues to turn yellow, cut the top (green part) off, place in fresh container with distilled water, and try to grow a fresh plant from it. If that doesn't work, buy a fresh plant. Better luck next time.

Not exactly, while you can grow the plant in water, you will need some stones to hold the plant in place, as well as apply liquid fertilizer about once a month.

Lucky bamboo should be placed at a window where it can get plenty of sunlight. If you were curious where it should be placed in a feng shui sense, then it might be placed in the east for health or in the south-east for wealth.

If you pot them and keep them watered and cared for, then yes. Congratulations, you have successfully propagated your bamboo plant, creating free genetic clones!

Yes. They are individual plants, but people like to put them together for decor.

If the roots are turning brown or black, you have root rot. Cut the healthy top off the lucky bamboo stalk and start a new plant in a new container.

Be careful to keep the rocks in place with your hand and fingers, and just pour out the old water. Then, add new water to refill.

If well cared for, it will grow almost a foot a year.

Try putting them in a warmer area or use a natural fertilizer. Make sure you are watering the proper amount.

Check to see if the plant has become rootbound, which means there are too many roots and not enough space in the pot. If the roots are growing like head on hair and are all wrapped around the base of the pot, give it a bigger or deeper pot. You can also trim the roots, but this may keep it from growing taller in a short period of time. Trimming roots will not harm the plant as long as you leave two thirds intact and untouched. If the plant is not rootbound, then you can leave it. Another thing to consider is when you last repotted the stalk. If it has been more than two years, you may want to consider giving it some extra space.

Your best bet here (if there are no obvious signs of unhealthiness) would be to check the roots. Your plant might be rootbound if it has been in the same pot for a long time. Lucky bamboo is not actually bamboo, it's a variety of dracaena, and they grow roots like crazy. If your plant is rootbound, then repot into something deeper. Check the roots every year or two.

Any kind of natural stones will do (purchase them from a store, as those that have been outside could contain bacteria unless fully sterilized), as will glass beads and some plastics (make sure it's free of BPA, also known as Bisphenol A).

Take it out of the light for at least an hour or so and give it plenty of water (not too much water or it will drown). Keep it out of reach from any little kids or pets.

Your bamboo may be getting too much light. Make sure that it's being properly watered, too.

Lucky bamboo is a water-loving plant. Keep the soil moist if potted in soil. If potted in rocks and water, keep the water level constantly above the roots, but below the stalk. Depending on the size of the plant and the pot, watering habits can vary from weekly to every two weeks. While it's a hardy plant, it should be watered more often than once a month.

Put as much water to go as high as the stones are, but do not go over the stones. Change the water weekly for best results.

Lucky bamboo is easy to transplant into a container you prefer. Just be gentle with the roots so they don't become damaged.

It is obviously well cared for. It should continue to grow freely and healthily as long as its pot is large enough.

Your plant likely is growing without you knowing it. A plant does not need to grow upward to continue growth. It probably is thickening. If you are referring to the part of the plant that has no leaves (the stalk), it is not likely to grow taller, because of the wax cap on top when it was cut. Also, it is very likely the roots are growing. If it is alive and green, the inner functions are running smoothly, so you do not need to worry about the condition of your lucky bamboo.

Sorry to say, but your lucky bamboo has a fungus. The fungus may have come from not changing the water enough, or having too much sunlight in the water. Pull up the bamboo and check where the fungus is. If you see black dots, that means it's too late. If not, you can still save it. Look near the base of the lucky bamboo near the end where the roots are. If the fungus isn't there, you can chop off the rest of the plant and seal the cut-off part with wax.

Yes, 100% OK! As long as the roots have something to hold onto (rocks or soil), then water is best. Lucky bamboo prefers to be wet at the roots (which is why growing it in rocks works so much better than soil). However, the stalk should not be submerge,d except at the very base (no more than a half-inch under water). Roots should be submerged completely.

Office lights don't offer the light it needs, so if possible, give it natural sunlight. The bamboo roots should be completely submerged, to about 1/2" up the stalk.

Remove the stones and repot the plant. The stones are placed atop because the pot is top heavy and for attractiveness in the store.

Lucky bamboo isn't actually a bamboo plant; it just looks similar, so it's not possible to grow the wood-like stems that you would normally see with bamboo.

Yes, provided the pulsations are less than twice per minute. The smell is normal, too.

Only the leaves and new sprouts grow taller. Cut stems don't grow any more.

Place your plant in a closed box and put a hole in it. Each day, give it sun from a different angle, moving in a circular pattern, and it will grow in a spiral.