TO MAKE THE BAMBOO ‘CURL’

If you’d like your stalks of lucky bamboo to ‘curl’ or grow in spirals, place the plant in a slightly dim area, where there is sunlight coming into the room from one side. (Do not put the plant directly in sunlight, ever.) Over a period of days, your lucky bamboo will seem to “reach” for the light. When it’s grown in one direction for a few inches, turn the plant slightly. The plant will grow in the new direction. Keep turning the plant as it grows, and after a couple of months it will have that distinctive spiral.

BAMBOO AND FENG SHUI

Especially in recent years, bamboo plants–including “lucky bamboo”–have been used to enhance prosperity. In fact, some American post offices use bamboo plants in the prosperity corner of each postal clerk’s work area. Other businesses display lucky bamboo plants for luck, too. Symbolically, bamboo represents wood. This makes bamboo–and all plants–especially appropriate in the Family/Security area, as well as the Money corner. Except to balance the elements, it’s best not to display bamboo in the Knowledge area. (In BHS Feng Shui, that’s the area on your immediate left as you enter your home.) Otherwise, lucky bamboo can be used in any area of your home to energize that area of the bagua.

LANDSCAPING WITH BAMBOO

For balance, or to soften a pointed corner (called “shar chi”) in or outside of your home, bamboo plants can be a great choice. And, in an excessively yin environment, bamboo plants can provide an elegant yang design element.

Bamboo can be grown in damp soil. If willow trees flourish around your home, bamboo will probably do well, too.

SUMMARY

Indoors, “lucky bamboo” can grow in most light conditions, and in a wide variety of temperatures. In other words, it’s safe even if you have a “brown thumb” with plants.

With the popularity of Feng Shui, it’s easy to find lucky bamboo at most stores that carry plants.

The best locations to display your lucky bamboo plants are your Money or Family/Security areas. Lucky bamboo is also a perfect housewarming gift.

Lucky bamboo is “luckiest” if it is received as a gift.

Indirect sunlight is best, but you can successfully grow a lucky bamboo plant in a bathroom with no windows, if you give it some indirect sunlight once a week or so.

Because this plant thrives on water, it’s best to give it good water. Tap water is fine, but put the water in a glass or a bowl and let it sit for 24 hours before adding it to your lucky bamboo. The chlorine and fluoride in tap water will evaporate or neutralize during that time, and your lucky bamboo will be much happier with this purer water.

Most lucky bamboo plants are grown in pebbles and water. Change the water once a month.

To keep your plant extra healthy, add a couple of drops of aquarium plant food every couple of months, when you change the water. (It’s not necessary to add plant food every month.)

If your lucky bamboo has been grown in soil, keep the soil evenly moist. Plant food is not necessary if the plant is getting its nutrients from the soil.

A stalk that turns yellow has often been overfed with plant food, probably at the commercial greenhouse that sold it to the store. (They do this to encourage a spurt of growth, so the plants sell for higher prices.) If your plant is yellow, change the water immediately, and do not give it plant food for a month.

Once the stalk turns yellow, it’s very difficult to reverse the damage. If it’s clear that you can’t save that stalk, remove it immediately. This is for feng shui reasons (no dead plants) and to prevent any plant diseases from spreading to the other stalks.

With proper care, lucky bamboo plants can grow two or three feet tall, and last for years.

The popular “lucky bamboo” plant is technically “dracaena sanderia,” not an actual bamboo plant. It is still considered very lucky in feng shui.

BUYING A LUCKY BAMBOO

When you select a lucky bamboo plant, be sure that it looks healthy and green, not bruised. If it’s in soil, the soil should not be dry. In pebbles and water, make sure that the stalks have some roots. Traditionally, it’s best to select a plant with three or eight stalks; both are lucky numbers in feng shui. If your plant has eight stalks, it’s ideal for two of them to be curly.

When you bring your plant home, let it sit in a bright area near a window, but not in direct sunlight. Unless the water level if very low (less than half way to the top of the pebbles), do not add water for at least two days. Allow the plant to get used to its new home.

If your lucky bamboo was planted in soil, be careful not to overwater it, but do not allow the soil to dry out entirely; keep it evenly moist.

To enhance your plant’s good luck, tie the stalks together with a red ribbon or a red thread. However, be certain not to tie them too snugly; lucky bamboo can bruise easily.

Once your lucky bamboo has had a chance to rest after its journey to its new home, it’s okay to water it and to move it to wherever you plan to display it.

PETS AND LUCKY BAMBOO

Some varieties of dracaena–the family of plants that include lucky bamboo–are poisonous to pets. So, if you’re bringing a lucky bamboo plant into your home, be sure to display it where your pets won’t be tempted to munch on the leaves.