Hello There,
Hope you’re doing well. I have a lucky bamboo plant that I bought 5 years ago and It was my first gift to my Fiancée and now wife so it holds quite emotional value.
Its dying and I need your help. I live in a house and temp in house is around 21c I am keeping plant in plain water now inside a glass jar.
Its dying. I need your advise please what should I do about it. I am attaching picture of plant here with email.
Please help.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for contacting Toronto Master Gardeners regarding your ailing Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana). Several healthy green leaves offer hope of recovery.
There are several possible problems that your plant is experiencing. We wonder if you have been growing your plant in water, or in potting soil. The Dracaena family of plants is very sensitive to additives in the water such as the fluoride and chlorine in Toronto tap water which can adversely affect a plant grown in water alone, or in the water irrigating the potting medium. It is recommended to use rainwater, distilled, or water from a home water filter and to change the water about every two weeks.
Insect infestations can cause yellowing and drying of leaves. Two common houseplant pests are: the tiny bright red spider mite which sucks on plant juices, and is most often noticed by the spider webbing on the plant. They are easily eliminated by hosing them off with plain water, and repeating this treatment every week for 3 or 4 weeks as new eggs hatch. Check the underside of leaves and the nooks and crannies where leaves attach.
Scale insects also suck juices from the plant and are seen as raised oval bumps on the plant which can be scraped off with a thumbnail, or wiped off with a tissue soaked in isopropyl alcohol. Again, it will require repeated applications to ensure their elimination.
A number of further causes of damaged leaves is outlined in the sites mentioned below.
A fact sheet about Dracaena culture from Clemson University with cultivation tips can be found at https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/dracaena/
A second useful resource also offers help in propagation which you may wish to try with the healthy, green parts of your plant. https://www.ourhouseplants.com/plants/lucky-bamboo-dracaena-sanderiana
Once it is healthy again, you may wish to occasionally feed your plant with a water soluble fertilizer with a nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium ratio of 3:1:2 plus traces of zinc, sodium, manganese, copper and iron, always carefully following the directions on the container.
We wish you much success with restoring your Lucky Bamboo to health.