lucky bamboo question

[lemontree]

lately i've been noticing that the leaves at the bottom have dried up (the ones closest to the stalk) so i decided to peel them off. Then i saw something really weird, it was like there were roots growing all over the bottom of the shoot, about 1 inch of small buds of roots. Is this the plant's way of forming a new stalk? I think i'm going to leave it for now until it gets bigger, and since it's going to be winter soon I don't want to bother it for now. haha, don't want to kill it because of my curiosity. What will happen if i cut it off in the spring? Will the original stalk reform new shoots?

here's a picture of the shoot to help clarify wut i'm talking about.


i also have another question, the roots of the stalk are rather brown, and has some sort of mucus surrounding them. although some healthier looking ones are forming after i put them in a opaque container rather than a plastic cup. Should i removed the brown ones? if so, how should i do it?

thanks for your reply

[Newt]

Hi Lemontree,
First of all, lucky bamboo isn't bamboo at all, but a dracaena. I suspect that what you are seeing is where the new roots can form if you air layer or cut and root in water or a rooting medium. The roots will often form where there is a junction of a leaf and stem. Take a look here for more info on your lucky bamboo dracaena.

http://www.erikasgiftbaskets.com/faq.html
http://www.nbizz.com/lineargifts/page1.html#

Here's a site on propagation.
http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplo...ort/g06560.htm

Newt