If I Cut the Wax Off a Store-Bought Lucky Bamboo Plant Will it Grow?

The number of stalks of lucky bamboo determines the type of luck you will receive.

Lucky bamboo, or Dracaena Sanderiana, is a cleverly marketed houseplant that is supposed to bring good luck to the home in which it resides. Growers have learned how to twist and contort this dracaena and leave just enough foliage so that the plant resembles true bamboo.

History

Dracaena sanderiana grows in the understory in Cameroon rain forests. In nature, it grows straight up. Commercial growers manipulate the type and amount of light given the plant to prompt it to grow in a twisted, contorted fashion.

Purpose

The purpose of the wax on the lucky bamboo cutting is to keep fungus from infecting the cut-end. The harvester applies the wax.

Facts

Removing the wax will not make a difference, as the lucky bamboo will never sprout from the top of the cane. It will, however, produce new growth from above the node beneath the waxed end.

References

• University of Illinois Extension; Lucky Or Curly Bamboo; Susan Mahr; October 2006
• Esprit de Isle: All About Lucky Bamboo
• FastFengShui.com; How To Choose And Care For Lucky Bamboo; Stephanie Roberts