5 year old Lucky Bamboo is dying

7 years ago

I've had these two Lucky Bamboos for around 5 years and this summer when I was on a vacation all the water on them vaporized and when I got back they were bent and lost their stiffness. Now after 8 months they're still losing their leaves. What can I do for them?

Note that in my case only the top leaves get yellow and they start from their tail, not their tip. I'd seen some topics but they were not like this one.

even some of the older nodes are getting infected.

Featured Answer

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Plants grow well when they're not asked to deal with conditions at or beyond beyond what they're programmed to tolerate. Your plant is showing how it feels about a lack of light, hydroculture, and the fact that it has no source of magnesium or calcium, other than what might be in the water you fill the vase with. BTW - you should empty the vase entirely before you add any fresh water; this, to prevent a build-up of dissolved solids in the water due to continual evaporation. Over time, unless you change the water regularly, the level of dissolved solids will increase to the degree that water uptake is is impossible. IOW, your plant can die of thirst while in a sea of plenty.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

socks
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
A photo and description of the growing conditions is needed so people can help. What kind of pot is it in, What kind of potting mix, what kind of light does it get, etc. just a pic of the plant isn’t enough.
Mahdi Mohammadi
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Okay, I keep'em in filtered water and use a transparent glass pot, They've been doing very fine before the vacation, even after that they both grown new stalks on them, Which I cut and propagated. Recently. Also realized there is a lot of green algae stuck to the roots, which I just washed away. And thought maybe they get not enough sunlight and placed them near the window.

I feed them with this fertilizer:

Here's a picture of the roots before cleaning:

The overall look:

(Ignore the two extra short lucky bamboo's, I just got'em and are not staying here for long.)
Related Professionals
Cherry Hill Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Covington Landscape Contractors · Greenfield Landscape Contractors · Leominster Landscape Contractors · North Adams Landscape Contractors · Canton Landscape Contractors · Salinas Landscape Contractors · Concord Interior Designers & Decorators · Portland Interior Designers & Decorators · Waco Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Richmond Custom Closet Designers · Baltimore Custom Closet Designers · Lawrenceburg Custom Closet Designers · Newark Custom Closet Designers · Lewiston Custom Closet Designers
Sans2014
7 years ago
Algae can be dealt with by using a vase that doesn't let light in.
Mahdi Mohammadi thanked Sans2014
Mahdi Mohammadi
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks everyone for the useful comments, now I just found that in the meanwhile both my lucky bamboos were growing new stalks on them.

But the new problem I just noticed is that their roots are beginning to smell like rotten egg, even tried changing the water and washing the roots, but after a day the new water smells the same as before, is that root rot due to fungus? Do I need to cut the roots off?
Sans2014
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Not sure, what does the stem look like, healthy or not? You might have to chop the top off and root it. Have you tried to wash the vase with soap and water? Is your water free of chemicals? I don't believe filtered water removes things like chlorine.
Mahdi Mohammadi
Original Author
7 years ago
The roots themselves look healthy despite the odor, but the part of the stem which is in water has some signs of fungus, and whenever I want to change the water I let the filtered water stay overnight to let the chlorine out. I recently turned to using this new fertilized that I mentioned earlier which I believe that's the reason for exciting the fungus to grow. I read somewhere in an article that using Azoxystrobin on an infected lucky bamboo will cure that. I'm gonna give it a shot and let you know the results, but first I have to find a fungicide with the required formula.