Good Karma for Your Home: Should You Buy a Lucky Bamboo Plant?

Have you ever heard of the Lucky Bamboo plant? Do you think it's lucky? Well, it really isn't. In this article, I will discuss whether or not you should purchase a Lucky Bamboo plant.

First of all, what is a Lucky Bamboo plant? A Lucky Bamboo is a houseplant that many people buy to spruce up their home. In the past, I owned one as well. The Lucky Bamboo plant doesn't resemble a typical houseplant because of how it grows.

The plant that I owned consisted of three different stalks, and had long slender leaves growing out of it in certain places. The plant would grow to about six or eight inches in height, and it can be trained to grow in odd directions. My plant would grow straight for a couple of inches and then twirl around and around again. After this, it would start to straighten out again. Like I said, it's not an ordinary house plant.

The Lucky Bamboo plant can be grown indoors at room temperature. You can set this plant in direct light or indirect light; it doesn't matter. Confusion sometimes arises as to what indirect and direct light mean. Basically direct light is when the sun's rays directly touch the plant, and indirect light is when the sun's rays don't touch the plant. With indirect light your room would be quite bright, but the sun would stay off the plant. As for the soil, you don't necessarily have to use any for this plant. The Lucky Bamboo plant can be grown in water, rocks, or normal soil.

Watering differs depending on how your plant is potted. If you use soil, then water the plant when the soil is dry. So that would come to about every week or two, for a normal environment. If you use rocks, then it's about the same as soil. When rocks are used, be sure to buy a ceramic pot that you can see through. This will help you in deciphering when to water the Lucky Bamboo plant because you will be able to actually see the water level. And if you use water only, then make sure you occasionally change the water every couple of weeks. This helps to keep the plant healthy and free of disease.

As for problems, the Lucky Bamboo plant does have them. If you don't change the water every couple of weeks, then the likelihood of disease sets in. And once disease occurs, your plant is as good as dead. The disease is easy to spot because the stalk of the plant will turn yellow. This basically means that the roots are diseased or dying. You can cut the green part of the stalk off before the yellow takes over the entire plant, which will save that portion of the Lucky Bamboo. But you will have to replant the part of the stalk that you cut off, and it will take time for the plant to grow back. As for insects, I never had any problems with them. However, your experience may differ if you grow your plant in the outdoors where insects are more prevalent.

The Lucky Bamboo is a nice plant to have, if you like houseplants. This plant is fairly easy to care for, and it does not die easily. You can even get creative with the Lucky Bamboo, and train it to grow at odd angles; it's definitely a fun plant to own.