Lucky bamboo, scientifically known as “dracaena sanderiana,” is a fascinating plant, able to bring happiness, health, prosperity, and fortune. Also called Chinese cane, lucky bamboo is a beautiful gift offered on the occasion of the new year in the Far East and many other special events. To this day, this stem is famous in Europe and is increasingly found in florist shops.
According to Chinese tradition, it brings luck to the recipient. Also, we often associate the lucky bamboo with feng shui to improve the flow of positive energies.
As you read this, discover the following points.
• Description
• Lucky Bamboo Symbolism
• Care and Maintenance
• Pests and Diseases
• Association
Description
The lucky bamboo is known by many names such as the sander’s dragon tree, dracaena sanderiana, or Chinese cane. However, this shrub has nothing to do with bamboo. It belongs to the family of dragon trees (dracaena) native to Africa. It has long stems that end in a spiral, bearing a few tufts of narrow, pointed evergreen leaves. This plant, considered one of the oldest good luck beauties. You can also give it as a present for important events, such as birth, marriage, New Year’s Eve, new work or project, etc. Lucky bamboo is a highly appreciated plant. According to Eastern symbolism, it brings strength, victory, prosperity, peace, and love.
Dracaena sanderia grows in Cameroon, where it reaches more than 1.5 m in height for nearly 1m of spreading. In other words, it bears little resemblance to the small ornamental plant we know. It has a slender growth habit and produces stems resembling bamboo culms.
Depending on the compositions and the form given by the horticulturist, you can use it to improve decor in a house or to decorate a very contemporary style. Still, it also fits very well in an ideal environment.
Lucky Bamboo Symbolism
Lucky bamboo is linked with the art of Feng Shui as a symbol of happiness and good luck. According to Feng Shui principles, lucky bamboo can transform the energy flows of a room into a positive spirit.
This beautiful plant is resistant and simple. It is recognized and used in many countries that follow this ancestral art.
There are different reasons for this:
• Lucky bamboo is not a demanding plant and multiplies without much maintenance: it means that to be happy and develop well, we need only a few things.
• Also, this plant is flexible and resilient. It expresses wisdom, tranquility, and balance
• In a pot, this plant combines the five essential elements, wood, water, earth, fire, and metal: it is a natural element, which, in Feng Shui, participates in the inner balance of the house.
To improve your interior and create a space of well-being, the lucky bamboo is potted and decorated in a specific way.
• Wood : It represents the stems of the plant
• Water: It is used submerge the plant,
• Earth: symbolizes decorative stones in the vase or pot,
• Fire: red ribbons are tied around the stem
• Metal: it is represented either by the material of the vessel, by a decorative metal or coin placed in the vase
It is essential to place lucky bamboo in a room on the east side or south-east. The plant should improve the circulation of Chi. It must, therefore, be arranged according to specific rules:
• In the inner and outer corners, which generate harmful waves and hinder the Chi.
• In a corridor, to slow down the waves and bring softness.
• In front of a piece of furniture, to break the angles.
Lucky bamboo finds its place in a living room, an entrance, an office, a bedroom, but never in a bathroom.
Care and Maintenance
Very easy to maintain and resistant, lucky bamboo is not a very demanding plant. Put it in a well-lit place, without exposing it to direct sunlight (at the risk of burning its leaves). If your plant is in a jar, you should change it once a week. However, if it is in the soil in a pot, you must keep the potting soil very moist. Also, do not forget to remove wilted leaves.
Once well planted, the lucky bamboos require almost no support, but they need water. In summer and during dry periods, water generously at the foot and shower the foliage in the evening. Young bamboos require regular watering for the first two years after planting to take root and grow well.
Potted plants also require increased monitoring of watering; take care not to let the soil dry out too much between waterings, they can drink up to five liters a day in hot weather. For the first few years, mulch can keep the soil moist in summer. However, over time, you can find that bamboo mulches itself, thanks to its dry leaves, which decompose very slowly.
Bamboos appreciate very fertile soil: in early spring, you can bring rich compost or a special bamboo fertilizer rich in nitrogen, twice a year for bamboos grown in containers. If the leaves tend to turn yellow, this may indicate an excess of limescale in the soil: bring heather land to the surface.
Bamboo pruning is not necessary. However, they are very tolerable to be pruned with shears at the end of summer in August-September, either to give them a shape according to your desires or to limit their development or to eliminate the dry canes (once they are dry they can serve as stakes). Every year, cut at the base the dry culms, the least vigorous and the most troublesome. This maintenance pruning can allow the plant to develop entirely new and denser foliage. Be aware, however, that once pruned, the canes no longer grow back.
In winter, do not hesitate to clear the stubble of snow: even if the canes are remarkably flexible, they may break under the weight. Lucky bamboo is also one of the depolluting plants. This is another reason to adopt it and invite it into your home!
Pests and Diseases
The lucky bamboo is not fragile and is resistant to most diseases and pests. However, they can be more vulnerable when they are weakened by excess water and lack of nutrients. In hot, humid weather, pot-grown bamboos are sometimes subject to attack by mealybugs, which feed on sap and leave mealy or cottony white clumps on the plant. The leaves eventually turn yellow and then fall off. Sprays of a mixture of vegetable oil (rapeseed or olive oil) and black soap can suffocate them. In case of an invasion, cut and burn the infested parts. Red spiders can also cause yellowing and drying of the leaves. Treat with acaricide.
Association
With their elegant foliage, sometimes colored with green, cream, or yellow, and their graphic silhouette, bamboos, although often self-sufficient, lend themselves to multiple uses. They always bring light, breath, and verticality to decor.
They make it possible to preserve a beautiful garden, even in winter. The frost can magnify their elegant shape and their evergreen foliage. Indeed, the lucky bamboo is the star of Asian-inspired gardens. They fit into all gardens, whether contemporary, exotic, wild, or natural gardens.
The lucky bamboo is a beautiful plant that you can offer it as a gift. Symbol of luck, it purifies the air in your home and keeps a Feng Shui atmosphere. Its soothing presence through abundant foliage in all seasons makes it a living symbol of good luck. This plant would indeed have the faculty to attract wealth, happiness, health, and love.