Lucky Bamboo ( Dracaena Sanderiana )

I've mentioned the above indoor plant in some previous posts. 

I must confess, I'm greatly attached to it as I believe it kind of protects me.  When one of its leaves gets yellow, I panic. "Here goes my protection"  I say to myself. No kidding.

I've discovered this plant while reading and trying to learn about Feng Shui - chinese tradition of creating a balanced, harmonious environment that will attract to it good energies promoting Health, Wealth,  Luck, and Love.

The gracious (towering stalks, delicate leaves) lucky bamboo plant is my favorite Feng Shui item. It is believed  to purify the room air and introduce positive vibes into the house.

 It can be grown in soil or water. I prefer  to grow it in a bowl with water and pebbles to stabilize it.

It requires minimal care: water (distilled) once a week, moderate light, moderate room temperature. It can be propagated through stalk cuttings and through its leaves, but that takes time.

This decorative plant can be offered , in a nice container, as a gift; it can even be sold at a small profit, especially if it's a specific arrangement of stalks.

I've got some 30 individual such plants and don't wish to lose any of them. On the contrary, I wish to buy some more, but they are imported and rather expensive here.

YouTube and my Lucky Bamboos

Most of us know how helpful YouTube tutorials can be; they teach us how to fix things, how to grow things, how to overcome technical problems with the computer/ the sewing machine, how to prevent and treat health issues  etc...From this point of view, we live in really blessed times.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of awful videos out there. The presenter talks too much or too little, is out of focus, bad diction, doesn't look confident; the rhytm is too slow and monotonous, or too swift, the video leaves us with more questions than answers.

Nevertheless, if you're interested in a topic, I suggest that you check all of the YouTube videos (old and new)  that deal with your topic of interest, as you never know what little gem of information is 'hidden' in this or that apparently boring/ poor quality tutorial.

I'm very fond of the well- known plant Lucky Bamboo. So far I've got about thirty- five pieces. It's a nice decorative plant, it requires minimal care, it can be grown in water (with some pebbles to stabilize it),it can be offered as a gift (especially that it is said to bring Luck), it can even be prepared and sold at a small profit (high profit - only if it's a special arrangement of stalks).

 

 
           

Most of the YouTube videos about this plant are of no great quality, and yet, I've learnt a lot from them. For instance, I've learnt that in order to keep the plant healthy you have to use distilled water (not tap water which contains chloride), direct sunlight will kill it (fluorescent light, I noticed, makes it grow more rapidly), it can be propagated both through stalk cuttings and through its leaves (it takes a month or so to get results), it can be made to grow into an interesting, spiral or exotic  (and quite pricey) arrangement (personally, I like it as an individual upright plant). 

I  heartily recommend it as a hobby, despite the fact that some claim its leaves have a certain amount of toxicity and should be kept away from cats (?!) and babies . I find this asian plant fascinating and tend to adopt the view that it purifies the air and creates a positive, energetic atmosphere in the room.

propagation from a 'dead plant' - well explained