How to Propagate the Lucky Bamboo Plant

The Lucky Bamboo is a popular indoor plant often chosen as a housewarming gift. Despite its English name 'lucky bamboo,' it actually belongs to the Dracaena genus, not the bamboo family. The easiest and quickest way to propagate the plant is by taking a healthy stem cutting to grow a new plant. After cutting a sprout from the main stem, remove the leaves and place the cutting in water until it develops roots. From there, you can either continue growing the plant in water or transfer it to soil for it to thrive. Fortunately, propagating Lucky Bamboo is simple and doesn’t take much time.

Remove the Lucky Bamboo from its pot. Lift the plant out of the pot and remove the wire that ties the stems together. Gently comb through the roots with your fingers to separate the root strands, then separate the stems. Pour the water from the pot into a basket to catch the gravel.

Choose a healthy tree branch with long shoots. The main tree stem must have at least two buds, which means two nodes where the branch is divided into sections. Once you select a healthy and long branch, look for a fresh shoot. This shoot should be around 10-15 cm in length, dark green in color, and emerge from one of the upper buds.

• A bud is the spot on the tree from which leaves sprout.

Detach the shoot from the tree. Carefully use a sharp knife or pruning scissors to cut the shoot away from the main tree stem. The closer you cut to the stem, the better. Afterward, trim about 0.5 cm from the lower part of the shoot, making a horizontal cut.

Remove the lower pairs of leaves. Gently peel off the leaves from the branch you just cut. Leave at least one pair of leaves at the top. This step is crucial because removing the lower leaves helps the plant focus its energy on growing roots.

• Removing the leaves is also important to prevent them from decaying when you submerge the cutting in water for root development.

Place the cut branch in a container of distilled water. Pour distilled water or bottled water into a glass jar until it's about 10 cm high. Submerge the cut end of the branch in the water. Ensure that the entire branch is not submerged. If you have multiple branches, you can place them all in one jar.

• It is essential to use distilled or bottled water since it does not contain harmful chlorine.
• If you choose to use tap water, let it sit for about 24 hours to let the chlorine dissipate before placing the branch in the water.

Place the branch in an area with indirect sunlight for 1 month. Move the branch to a location with light, but shield it from direct sunlight. While in the water, the branch will start growing roots, and eventually, you’ll be able to plant it. Rooting typically takes around 30 days.

Change the water weekly. Once a week, carefully remove the branches from the container and discard the old water. Replace it with fresh distilled or bottled water to prevent stagnant water. If necessary, you can add extra water to replenish the amount lost due to evaporation or absorption by the growing plant.

Transfer the plant to a larger container. Once the shoot has developed roots after a month, you can move it to a separate jar. Lay down a layer of gravel or pebbles about 2.5 cm thick at the bottom of the container. Place the stem upright in the middle of the gravel to keep it steady and ensure it remains vertical. Fill the container with dechlorinated water up to a height of 10 cm.

• You can also plant the rooted shoot in the same container with the parent plant you originally took the cutting from.

Change the water monthly. A plant grown in water requires regular access to fresh water. Once a month, pour out the old water and replace it with bottled water, distilled water, or tap water that has been dechlorinated by sitting outside. If the water evaporates quickly during the month, you should top it up.

Plant the shoot in soil instead of water. The shoot can also grow well in soil. Find a small pot with a depth of at least 7.5 cm and ensure it has plenty of drainage holes. Fill the pot with a soil mix such as cactus soil. Plant the stem about 5 cm deep in the soil. Water it and keep the soil lightly moist.

• Use bottled water, distilled water, or dechlorinated water to water the plant.
• Fertilize the soil with a fertilizer designed for lucky plants or diluted liquid fertilizer to promote healthy growth.

Place the lucky plant in a location with indirect sunlight. The lucky plant grows best in bright areas but will quickly suffer from leaf burn if exposed to direct sunlight. Choose a spot where the plant can receive plenty of light, such as a windowsill partially shaded from the sun, where it will get ample light each day.

Trim the top just above the next bud. Take the stem of the mother plant that you just pruned and place it on a cutting board. Identify the position of the bud where you made the cut and locate the next bud below it. Measure approximately 1 cm above this bud and use a sharp knife or pruning shears to trim the top of the stem.

• Cutting just above the bud stimulates new growth in the plant.

Dip the freshly cut end in unscented, white soy wax. Light the soy wax candle and wait around 30 minutes for the wax to melt. Once the wax has melted into a small puddle, dip the freshly cut end of the stem into the wax to seal the wound. This step helps prevent infection at the cut site.

• The best wax for this process is unscented, white soy wax. Avoid using petroleum-based waxes with dyes and fragrances, as they may harm the plant.

Reinsert the mother plant's stem into its vase. Place the stem back into its vase along with the other stems. Scatter gravel or pebbles from the basket back into the vase to secure the stems in place. Fill the vase with distilled water and return it to its original location.