How to Water Lucky Bamboo? | Pro Tips You Must Know

Join this article to learn how to water lucky bamboo with pro tips that save your plant from root rot and help it to grow healthy. Here, I will answer most of your questions about watering indoor bamboo plants.

The elegant appearance of Lucky bamboo and its use in Feng Shui practices makes it one of the most popular tall indoor plants. However, it originated from South Asia but most people throughout the world have Lucky bamboo in their houseplant collection.

I’m a plant pathologist who works especially in the field of indoor gardening. Almost all experienced gardeners believe that Lucky bamboo is a low-maintenance indoor plant and even those who have a brown thumb in gardening can grow this plant in their houses. Still, I know many people have problems with growing lucky bamboo especially when they plant it in the soil.

They usually complain about their lucky bamboo turning yellow and ask me why. in my previous article, I told you about the Bamboo house plant care and gave you a lot of golden tips in this issue. But I think it is not enough and decided to dive into more detail.

Here, I want to provide you with a comprehensive guideline about how to water lucky bamboo in soil. If you are interested in growing this plant in water, pebbles, or rocks, please read my next articles to get pro tips about how to water lucky bamboo in water, pebbles or rocks.

 ➡ You can also hear the audio version of this article.

How to Water Lucky Bamboo in Soil?

Lucky bamboo is one of the different indoor bamboo types that hate to live in soggy soils. If you want to know how should I water Lucky bamboo, here, I will tell you pro tips that will help you.

How Much Water Does My Lucky Bamboo Need?

To find out how to water lucky bamboo, first allow to find its water needs. The water needs of lucky bamboo can vary depending on factors like temperature, humidity, pot size, and the type of container it’s in. Hence, I cannot tell you the right amount and you must determine it by considering the above factor for your plant. In the following, I provide you with tips that will help you with this issue.

 💡 To determine the amount of intake water for your lucky bamboo, you must water until you see excess water draining from the bottom of the pot. So, the water will reach the root zone but doesn’t flood the soil.

 💡 Please note that the plant’s water needs may change with the seasons. So, you may increase the frequent watering during the growing season (spring and summer) and less it during the dormant period (fall and winter). Do you how to determine the frequent watering?

 💡 To determine the watering frequency for your lucky bamboo, you must note the topsoil moisture. Everywhen the top inch (2.5 cm) of the soil feels dry to the touch you must water it again.

 💡 Usually, the watering frequency for Lucky bamboo is determined approximately every 1-2 weeks but a lot of factors have an impact on frequent watering such as temperature and humidity. The effect of temperature on it was mentioned above as a seasonal change.

The temperature also has an important impact on your lucky bamboo growing. You can also read my article about “lucky bamboo temperature” to gain a lot of pro tips on this issue.

 💡 Lucky bamboo loves humid atmospheres, hence if you live in a dry climate, you may need to water more frequently or provide additional humidity for your lucky bamboo by misting it or using a humidity tray. Read my next article about “Lucky bamboo humidity” to find out more details.

 💡 Another important factor in determining the water intake of your lucky bamboo is your container type and size. I discuss it in another article in detail: Best Pots for Lucky Bamboo.

However, if you are interested in planting your lucky bamboo in a pot without holes, you must know that the watering in this kind of planters is different from common pots with drainage holes. Hence it would help if you read about the best ways to water plants in the pots without holes to prevent root rot.

Should You Bottom Water Bamboo?

Bottom watering can be a suitable method for bamboo, including lucky bamboo when grown in soil. Bottom watering involves adding water to the saucer or tray beneath the plant pot, allowing the plant to soak up water from the bottom.

How to water lucky bamboo? If you have a heavy hand in watering, bottom watering can help prevent overwatering by allowing the plant to take up only the water it needs. However, it’s important to remember that the frequency of bottom watering should still follow the general guidelines for lucky bamboo’s water needs.

Below I show you how to do it:

1- Choose a Suitable Saucer: Ensure that the pot containing your bamboo has drainage holes, and place it in a saucer or tray that can hold water.

2- Add Water to the Saucer: Pour water into the saucer or tray until it reaches a depth of about 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm). Avoid overfilling to prevent the plant’s roots from sitting in standing water for too long.

3- Wait for Absorption: Allow the plant to absorb water through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. This typically takes some time, so be patient.

4- Monitor Soil Moisture: Check the moisture level in the soil by sticking your finger into the top inch (2.5 cm). If it still feels dry after bottom watering, you can add a bit more water to the saucer and allow the plant to continue absorbing moisture.

5- Empty Excess Water: After a few hours, empty any excess water from the saucer to ensure that the plant’s roots are not left in standing water.

Let me answer another frequent question:

 ➡ Can I use Bottom watering when my bamboo is grown in rocks or water (hydroponically)? Bottom watering is not applicable in this case since there’s no soil to absorb water through drainage holes.

How to Water Lucky Bamboo in Pots: Golden Tips to Have a Healthy Bamboo

• Lucky Bamboo is sensitive to chemicals in tap water, such as chlorine and fluoride, which can harm the plant over time. Always use clean, chlorine-free water. You can use tap water if you let it sit out for 24 hours to allow chlorine to evaporate. Alternatively, you can use filtered or bottled water.
• Never let the pot sit in standing water, as this can lead to root rot.
• Use water that is at room temperature or slightly lukewarm. Avoid using extremely cold or hot water, as it can stress the plant.
• How to water lucky bamboo? You must water your lucky bamboo Sparingly. As mentioned above, Lucky Bamboo is a low-water plant. Be cautious not to drown the roots by keeping the soil or water excessively wet. Err on the side of underwatering rather than overwatering.
• Another factor that has a critical impact on your success is the use of well-draining soil. Lucky bamboo prefers well-draining, loose potting soil. A mix of peat moss and perlite or a specialized indoor plant potting mix works well. So, I recommend reading “Best Potting Soil for Lucky Bamboo” to find pro tips in this issue.

Conclusion

I tried to answer the most frequent questions about how to water lucky bamboo. I told you about how much water your Lucky Bamboo needs and showed you how to do bottom watering your Lucky Bamboo. In addition, you found out a lot of pro tips.

Do you know other tips for watering lucky bamboo? Please share your experiences and ideas with our readers, also if you have any questions, I will answer them if you share them below this page.