15 years in JUST water ... ever use any fert?

how far is it from a light source that is sufficient for the plant??

ken

You have a lucky bamboo (Dracaena) rather than an actual bamboo. See here for lots of discussion about growing these: Lucky Bamboo Forum - GardenWeb

Yes 15 yrs!! Only water, yes. It has been exposed to descent light.

It would do much better in a solid medium (potting soil). The chlorotic (yellow) leaves are almost certainly due to nutritional deficiencies - probably many.

If you like keeping it in water, you could change the water weekly (distilled or water that has passed through a reverse osmosis filtration system is best as dracaena is sensitive to fluoride and high pH, and the pH of most tapwater is too high for best results) , using a solution of water and Foliage-Pro 9-3-6, which has all nutrients essential to normal growth. The solution strength should be 1/4 tsp per gallon of water. There are 75-100 drops in a teaspoon, so using the average of 84 drops/tsp, you would use 5-6 drops per quart or liter of water.

The roots that form in water are structurally very different than roots that form in soil. Water roots are full of airy tissue (aerenchyma) and voids that allows air from above the waterline which enters the plant through tiny micro-pores and openings called stomata, to diffuse through root tissues to provide the oxygen necessary to convert the plant's food (sugar) to the energy that drives root function.

If you do transition to a solid medium, and because the roots that grow in water are brittle and pore at absorbing oxygen from air in the grow medium, many roots will likely break during the transition and there will be a transition of stalled growth while the plant sorts out the change from water plant to terrestrial plant. After that, the plant should be much happier.

If you do transition to soil, it would be a good idea to prune the shoots back. This will help ensure the root system is able to satisfy the moisture needs of a reduced volume of foliage, which will help keep the plant from collapsing.

Thoughts?

Al