Bamboo--- please help

[aruseff]

I have a bamboo stick currently in water right now. Ive just noticed that there are little white roots growing on the bottom and was just wondering if i should keep it in water or put it in soil. ALso i wanted to know if i could cut the bamboo in half because it is toooo long and i wanted to cut it in half and put both pieces in soil but not sure if i should. Please let me know. thank you :)

[Newt]

Hi Aruseff,

It has been quite a while since you wrote in with your question, but if your bamboo is still alive, I will try and help.

Do you know what kind of bamboo you have? That would help me out. Usually it is best to root cuttings in a medium such as perlite or vermiculite. You don't say how long the roots are, but roots formed in water don't usually do well once transplanted in soil. I would suggest you get a small bag of perlite. Put some in the bottom of the pot, put the rooted cutting in the pot with the roots on top of the perlite, cover with the perlite and water well. Let the excess water drain through and keep the medium slightly moist. Don't try and insert the roots into the dry perlite as it's a very rough medium and can damage the roots and stem. Once you have a root system with lots of side shoots, you can transplant into a pot.

You can cut the bamboo you have rooting and try and root the new one in the perlite too.

Newt

Your lucky bamboo is really not a bamboo at all. It is a Dracaena sanderiana cutting that has rooted in water.

You can leave it in water. Add a very tiny amount of fertilizer to the water to supply the nutrients it needs.

Or you can pot it in soil like any other rooted cutting. Use a very small pot (2 inch) with a peat-based, soilless potting mix.

In both cases, lots of bright indirect light ( a north or east windowsill) will help ensure good growth.

I don't recommend cutting it in half.

[docgreenthumb]

I have heard bad things about cutting it in half, but I wonder if you could cut the leaves off and stick them in water to make them root. I just have mine in a glass jar with some aquarium rock in it, but i'll have to try putting a bit of fertilizer in to help it out. I've also heard to change the water about every two weeks.

--docgreenthumb