Can someone please tell me what is going on with my Bamboo? I've had it since 2007 and now it's turning yellow? It doesn't feel mushy.
How can I bring it back?
Yellow stalks on Bamboo
It looks like you have it just sitting in water. In my experience with bamboo, keeping them in water is good to get cuttings to root. Kept in too long and they die. Is there any reason you can't put it in soil?
I stuck it in that just to take the picture, but it has been in a vase with water for 3 years. I have 4 other ones in water also. They seem to be fine.
I guess I could try it in soil? I don't have a clue how to do it though. I've always had mine in vases with rocks. How deep do I plant it? How often do I water it? In soil will be a whole new experience:)
All my bamboos are in the ground, since some of them are over 15 metres (50 feet) tall. I do have a "Buddha's Belly" in a pot because it's a cutting. It'll be going into the ground soon though. All you need to do is put the soil level just over the roots. My large plants always end up putting out more roots above ground level anyway. They like the soil to stay moist. Some of mine are waterlogged during the wet season without any ill-effect. During the dry season they dry out a lot more without completely drying out.
It might help to know that it's not actually a bamboo--it's actually a Dracaena (D. sanderiana). They are called "lucky bamboo" but they are not at all related to real bamboo. Some people grow them in soil but some also grow them in water so you should be able to do it either way. In nature they grow in soil so I suspect in the long run they might be happier in soil, but I know lots of people grow them in water too. I've never grown them in water though so I can't help you out with what's wrong, except to suggest that maybe it needs some fertilizer or else maybe the water wasn't changed out frequently enough and that made it sick?
I rarely changed the water, so that's probably the problem?
I'm not sure--I imagine the water can get nasty after a while and they'd do better with it being changed out from time to time, but since I've never grown them that way I couldn't say for sure. Hopefully someone else will come along who's grown them in water and knows more than I do about it.
I had some ivy in the water with it and I think it got real "rooty" I changed the water and got rid of some of the ivy's roots. Maybe that will help?
In many ways Dracaenas aren't all that different in requirements to Bamboo. But I've seen lots of people keep them permanently in water. Don't know what they add to the water, if they add anything at all.
In a big clear vase with some pretty rocks, they can be attractive in water. All I've ever done is keep them in water. I'm lost how to plant them in soil:)
I've done cuttings of Dracaena and found they're easier than bamboo. Once there's a decent amount of roots I put them in ordinary potting mix and keep them wet.
I found this picture from back in May 2007 of one of my bamboo in water with rocks.
what's the difference between Dracaena and bamboo?
Technically speaking, Bamboo is a grass, Poaceae family. They have hollow stems, called "culms". Dracaena belongs in the Agave family, Agavaceae. Dracaenas have solid stems.
There are a number of genus that make up Bamboos, including the genus Bambusa. Dracaena is itself one genus in the family Agavaceae, although there are others in that family that look like Dracaenas, such as the genus Pleomele. I can't tell the difference between Dracaena and Pleomele.
My bamboo are dracaena sanderiana. Up till now they were the easiest plants to care for. I hope I can save my sick one:)