So, why is my bamboo turning yellow? The lucky bamboo is a stunning variety of blooming plants that are often categorized as a perennial herb and has the potential to reach up to a height of 100 centimeters in its mature state.
The plant is rather distinctive, and its leaves, which are often gray or green and somewhat twisted, give it its name.
If your Lucky Bamboo’s color turns yellow, it signifies that it is struggling with one or more problems.
It would be best if you found out what’s creating this problem and devise solutions to cure it and restore their positive energy. This page provides you with all of the information.
Why Is My Lucky Bamboo Turning Yellow?
If your lucky bamboo turns yellow, it’s a warning sign that something is awry. Therefore, before you quit your bamboo plant that has turned yellow, you should briefly analyze your environment and the methods you used to care for it. One of the following factors causes the problem.
Using Tap Water
When the leaves or stalks of a plant are yellow, in most cases, the cause is the plant getting too much water. Luckily, bamboo plants will grow in a vase of water with a substrate, such as pebbles; nevertheless, there are other instances in which these plants may thrive in soil containers. Despite this, the location of the water supply is an essential factor to consider while tending to your plant’s needs.
To keep your lucky bamboo plant healthy, you should never water it with tap water. This will set you up for failure before you even begin. Since tap water often includes chemicals, including chlorine and fluoride, that are detrimental to plants and may cause them to die. Your lucky bamboo plant may perish if you regularly subject it to the water’s chemicals.
- You’ll need to break out a distilled or spring water bottle to care for your bamboo properly.
- It is possible to water your lucky bamboo plant using rainwater collected from your garden if you have a garden and utilize a rain collection system. Avoid passing water over an asphalt roof since this may release chemicals into the runoff.
- You can use even the aquarium water since the fish feces have formed beneficial fertilizer.
Adding Wrong Temperature Water
Be cautious to check the temperature of the water before you add it to or replace the water in your lucky bamboo plant. There is a possibility that your lucky bamboo can turn yellow if you water it with water that is too cold.
- Ensure the water is at room temperature rather than frigid since cold water may cause illness.
- Let water hang out for a few hours at room temperature before using it to ensure that the water is not too chilly.
Not Changing The Water Frequent Enough
The secret to a thriving lucky bamboo plant can be as simple as providing clean water. When caring for lucky bamboo plants growing in water, it is important to replace the stale water with new water consistently. The provision of sustenance such as nitrogen and oxygen by the freshwater is necessary for maintaining a robust plant life. However, plants cannot survive without the trace elements found in clean water.
- To get the optimum results, change the water every two weeks.
- Avoid stagnant water (a feng shui no-no).
- Water that has been sitting for a while creates a variety of circumstances favorable for mold, bacteria, and fungi growth.
- Immediately replace the water if any of the following occur: the water becomes cloudy, dark, murky, green, or black; it also emits a terrible odor.
- If you see green algae growing on the rocks or the container’s glass, replace the water and wash or clean the rocks and the container.
Maintain the water at a depth of about two inches at all times. It is important to make sure that there is adequate water to saturate the roots thoroughly. Maintaining a healthy plant requires consistency. One of the most important aspects is ensuring that the plant always has an adequate water supply.
Not Keeping The Soil Moist Enough
When you water a plant that is planted in soil, placing rocks on top of the dirt will prevent the soil from moving around when you water. It is important to keep the soil at a moistness level that is just right.
- A good rule of thumb is to insert your fingers into the dirt up to the first joint of your plant growing in soil (1″). If the soil has a dry appearance and texture, it is time to water the plants.
- Be cautious not to over-water the plant, and check that the container it is growing in has enough drainage. To keep the plant healthy while growing in its dirt bed, you must spray the plant’s leaves every two or three days.
Due To Exposure To Direct Sunlight
Suppose you notice that the leaves on your lucky bamboo plant are becoming a burnt-looking yellow. In that case, this is most likely the result of prolonged exposure to direct sunshine. The lucky bamboo can’t survive in the sun’s rays but does well in brilliant indirect light. Therefore, you should reposition your plant if it is getting too much direct sunlight. To continue along this line of thought, if your plant receives insufficient indirect light, it may begin to wither, and its color may become pale or yellow.
Too Many Fertilizers
Excessive use of fertilizer causes the yellowing of the lucky bamboo stem. The first thing to evaluate is whether or not your plant has been over-fertilized. This is particularly important if the leaves and stalks of your plant have turned yellow.
The vast majority of lucky bamboo plants do not need fertilizer application. They can live successfully for years despite never having their soil treated. So, for example, suppose you must apply fertilizer to your plant. In that case, you should be sure to use a kind designed exclusively for lucky bamboo. This dose needs to be administered seldom and only on rare occasions.
Lucky Bamboo plants succumb to death due to improper temperature and humidity conditions.
Suppose you’ve eliminated all the other potential reasons and noticed that the leaves of your lucky bamboo plant are turning yellow. In that case, it’s conceivable that the temperature is just too low. The optimal conditions for the plant’s growth are an environment with temperatures ranging from 65 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Why Is My Bamboo Stem Turning Yellow?
A lucky bamboo plant that is healthy should have leaves and stems ranging from dark green to brilliant green. There are several potential explanations for why the stem or leaves of the plant are becoming yellow, including the following:
Excessive Exposure to The Sun
A lucky bamboo plant needs brilliant yet filtered sunshine, much like the light you may find below the canopy of a tropical jungle. When exposed to excessive direct sunshine, which may cause the leaves to get scorched and the plant to become stressed, lucky bamboo often turns yellow.
Excessive Fertilizer Usage
An excessive amount of fertilizer is yet another factor that may contribute to the browning or withering of the leaves. One or two light fertilizer applications once or twice yearly is all that is required to keep a bamboo plant lucky.
Water Scarcity
Keeping the water level at the base of the canes at a constant level allows lucky bamboo to survive. Lucky bamboo tends to dry up rather rapidly when planted in soil. This may cause stress on the plant, which causes the leaves to become yellow, wilt, and eventually die.
Bad Quality Water
The lucky bamboo plants are sensitive to the chemicals in many urban water sources, such as chlorine and fluoride. If you have been watering your lucky bamboo plant with tap water instead, give bottled, filtered, or distilled water a go.
Inappropriate Temperature
Plants from the lucky bamboo genus are tropical and thrive in warm temperatures. Therefore, we recommend keeping the temperature of the growth environment between sixty-five and ninety degrees Fahrenheit if you are growing it as a houseplant. Vents for heating or cooling may be stressful to a plant. Therefore it is important to position them in an area apart from any heat or air conditioning sources.
Pest Infestation
An infestation of insects might cause the leaves on lucky bamboo stems to turn yellow. Spider mites and aphids, both of which are quite little in size, are typical offenders. You may often determine these unwanted guests with a magnifying glass.
Why Is My Bamboo Stalk Turning Yellow?
There might be many causes for the yellowing of your lucky bamboo stalks, including the following:
- A light level that is either too high or too low – The lucky bamboo plant thrives in bright yet indirect light.
- An excessive amount of fluoride or chlorine in the drinking water – Use distilled water or rainfall instead.
- Water that is either too much or not enough – Keep the soil moist without soaking. Ensure enough drainage, and wait until the top inch of the soil has dried up before watering. If the plant is only grown in water, ensure that you submerge the roots in the medium.
- An excessive amount of fertilizer – There is a wide range in the amount required for lucky bamboo, from twice per year to none.
Why Are My Lucky Bamboo Leaves Turning Yellow?
The yellowing of lucky bamboo leaves may be traced back to one basic cause: over-watering. Besides this, the Lucky Bamboo becomes yellow when it does not get enough light, nutrients, and moisture.
The incorrect water temperature puts the yellow leaves’ health in danger and poor quality and condition. In addition, lucky bamboo may become yellow if it is physically injured, has insects, or does not get enough nutrients.
Can Yellow Bamboo Turn Green Again?
Yes.
You are lucky if the Lucky Bamboo lacks a nutrient in its current state. However, they may be able to recover their original appearance if they are successful in making up for the previous loss.
If you don’t correct this, the Lucky Bamboo’s yellow areas will never revert to their natural color of green. However, it would be best if you did not give up; cutting the leaves that have turned yellow will make room for fresh development.
In the event of the stem, you may transplant it to conserve the remaining piece of the plant. Although cutting will be of some assistance, it is still necessary to identify the primary reason for the issue.
Without this action, the yellowing that has already occurred in the other areas will continue indefinitely. And this may wreak havoc on the plant as a whole, even leading to its demise in certain cases.
How Do You Bring Yellow Bamboo Back to Life?
Several circumstances might cause the yellowing of the leaves on a lucky bamboo plant; thus, treating the plant will take some trial and error. Consider the following care instructions for lucky bamboo to prevent the leaves from becoming yellow:
Try Pruning Your Plant
Take off any leaves that have turned yellow by carefully removing them from the stem.
Try Moving Your Plant
Move your plant to a location that receives indirect light or adjust its orientation to face the sun. If you observe that your lucky bamboo is growing in the sun’s direction, it is in a favorable position. Cultivators use even the sun’s rays to guide the development of these plants.
Make Use Of An Alternative Supply Of Water
Altering the water in the environment is an effective early intervention strategy. If your plant is growing in water, discard the old water and replace it with new water. Root rot is a disease bacteria that thrive in water that does not circulate may cause.
Decrease The Amount Of Fertilizer That You Use
The yellowing of your lucky bamboo may be the result of over-fertilizing. However, if you fertilize your plant, you should consider reducing the quantity of fertilizer you use and the number of times you do it.
Conduct A Thorough Inspection Of Your Plant For Insects And Other Vermin
Use a magnifying lens to do a thorough inspection of your plants so that you can identify any insects or other pests. If you discover them, you may attempt to get rid of them by using a mix of water, rubbing alcohol, and vegetable soap.
Cut The Yellow Stem To An Appropriate Length
Remove most of the yellow portions as you can from the plant before the whole thing goes yellow, and then place what’s left in some water that’s been recently filtered and purified.
Final Words – Why Is My Bamboo Turning Yellow?
Your participation in cultivating the lucky bamboo will demand significant time or energy.
But you’ll have to be on your toes if you want the plant to make it through the phase when it turns yellow. Unfortunately, people often cannot respond in time to prevent the yellowing of these plants, which ultimately results in their demise.
If you can diagnose the issue on time, you will rescue your plant!
Now that you know what elements to watch out for when the Lucky Bamboo begins to yellow, it is easier for you to monitor them. Besides, you are well-equipped with information on how to address and resolve these issues.
