Are you feeling lucky this March? 

Add this fun, lucky bamboo to your home as a sign of prosperity and goodness to come this spring. 

We’ve likely all seen lucky bamboo on a co-worker’s desk or in a friend’s home—growing within a vase with water or pebbles. This is because lucky bamboo grows hydroponically (yes, it lives in water). It’s a unique, vibrant plant that can help clean the air and lift spring-fever spirits. 

While its bright green stalks resemble bamboo with thick, cylindrical stems, lucky bamboo isn’t actually bamboo at all (there’s your trivia for the day!). It offers the appearance of bamboo, but is actually a member of the lily family. 

Although lucky bamboo is often sold in its hydroponic ‘state,’ it can grow quite well when repotted in soil. Then? You’ll have a low-maintenance indoor plant that does not depend upon bright natural light to flourish. How lucky (and easy) is that?

It’s Easy

In Water

• If your lucky bamboo is growing in a container with water, add about one inch of water, refreshing as it is absorbed by the plant (or as it evaporates).
• It’s important to use distilled water, as tap and bottled water add minerals and salt which, over periods of time, will accumulate and harm the plant. 
• Lucky bamboo can grow up to one inch per month.
• Lucky bamboo can grow as tall as three feet, but some pruning will be required as it grows taller with age. Simply prune by cutting stems (with clean pruning sheers) just above one of the stalk rings. This encourages new growth.
• Want to get creative? Train your lucky bamboo to grow in various shapes, using twist ties, attaching it to a clean frame of your choice. 

In Soil

• If planting in soil, fill a pot sized three to four inches wider in diameter than the lucky bamboo. Fill soil to within an inch of the rim. Ensure your potting soil does not contain perlite, as it can damage the plant. 
• Remove lucky bamboo from its water and pebble home, and transfer to the soil-filled pot at the same depth it was growing in its original container.
• Place the plant where it will receive indirect light, as direct sunlight scorches the plant. 
• Water lucky bamboo with distilled, lukewarm water, only when soil feels dry to the touch. Be sure the pot has drainage through its bottom, and discard any residual water from the drip tray.