Potting, Shaping, and Trimming Lucky Bamboo
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If your lucky bamboo has been growing in water only for a while, then it may not survive potting if the roots don’t properly adapt to the soil. Select a fast-draining soil mixture and use stones or marbles, etc. to create drainage holes. If the soil doesn’t drain well, then the roots will rot. The container should be no more than approximately two inches larger than the entire plant.
Lucky bamboo is shaped by rotating the plant in front of a light source. The plant will naturally grow towards the light. To create curves, stalks need to be placed in a three-sided box and grown on their sides. The light source should only enter from the remaining side. The plant needs to be rotated bit by bit on a regular basis. It will take a while for results to show, and it’s not easy to do this properly either.
Lucky bamboo grows upwards rather than out, so there’s usually no need to transfer it to a bigger container. If the lucky bamboo is becoming too tall, do not cut off the main stalk of the plant. You can cut off one inch above one of the nodes on each stalk. Nodes are the raised rings that grow around the stalk. New shoots will grow from the cut area. If healthy, the pieces that you cut off can be used to grow new lucky bamboo. Treat is as you would a new lucky bamboo plant, and you should see roots emerge eventually.
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