Lucky bamboo does not like direct sun. Thoroughly wash the container and any pebbles or marbles used to support the lucky bamboo with warm, soapy water. Mold in soft or brown spots along the stem indicates that your Lucky Bamboo is dying and decaying. This is a fungus that may need to be treated with Daconil (a fungicide that you can get at your local garden center). So people living in Arizona or anywhere else should expect a brown … Refill the container with bottled water to just above the mass of roots. Unless there is another problem, the browning of the tips is caused by low humidity. Brandy Alexander has been writing professionally since 2001. This sterilization step kills any disease-causing organisms that may be present. Cut completely yellow leaves off by snipping the area between the leaf base and stem. The spots are round and mostly cosmetic. If your lucky bamboo suddenly drops a bunch of leaves, it could be due to too much water, an insect infestation or a drastic change in temperature. They appear most often in humid climates. Here's how to prevent tip burn from affecting your lucky bamboo plant. How to fix Lucky Bamboo leaves from turning brown. They can either be the result of too much direct sunlight, or they can signal that the plant’s water supply is too fluoridated or salty. Copyright Leaf Group Ltd. // Leaf Group Lifestyle. Change the water that your lucky bamboo sits in every week to prevent it from becoming murky and odorous. Heat – Too much heat or direct sunlight may be the reason for a browning bamboo plant, as most bamboo varieties prefer shade or partial sunlight. Sometimes the entire body of your Dracaena sanderiana is covered with mold. Water – Both under-and over-watering can cause a bamboo with brown tips. Only fertilize lucky bamboo if the leaves begin to turn a pale yellowish green color. They also often treat water with chlorine to kill microorganisms and add salts to soften water. Alexander runs her own art-glass business and has been a contributor to "Glass Line Magazine" as well as various online publications. Lucky bamboo may look like bamboo, but it is actually a Dracena sanderiana, and like many members of the Dracena family, lucky bamboo is susceptible to a problem called tip burn, where the ends of the plants' leaves turn brown and crispy even though they are getting plenty of water. Don't use a synthetic liquid fertilizer because they are often high in salts, which can cause tip burn. Willi Evans Galloway loves to read, write, talk about, and teach people how to garden organically and grow their own food. How to Prevent Brown Tips on Lucky Bamboo. Plan the perfect garden with our interactive tool →. One thing you do need to pay attention to, however, is the condition of the bamboo leaves. Dracenas, including lucky bamboo, are extremely sensitive to fluoride, as well as chlorine and salts. Other times, it simply is a result of the natural life cycle of the plant. When spots appear elsewhere, they can represent a more extreme case of pest infestation or infection from funghi or bacteria. She is a glass artist with a Web design and technical writing background. Willi lives in Seattle with her husband, four pet chickens, a lawn-destroying labrador, and way too many tomato plants. If your plant was watered with tap water previously, you may still see some tip burn after you switch to bottled water, but the problem should subside within 4 to 8 weeks. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. How to Trim Brown Leaves From Peace Lily Plants, How to Prune an African Iris Fortnight Lily, How to Remove Dead Leaves From Outdoor Ferns, North Dakota State University: Lucky Bamboo, North Dakota State University: Questions on Miscellaneous Houseplants, How to Care for an Indoor Bamboo Palm & Cut Its Dying Leaves. You worry that your lucky … As the water in the tray evaporates, it will increase the humidity around your plant. Brown spots that appear on bamboo leaves are usually an indication of the plant’s nutrition. Ends of the leaves of lucky bamboo are drying out and turning brown. After that time, in-ground plants usually require no … Use an an inch of distilled or purified water to ensure you don't expose your plant to fluoride or chlorine, which can damage the plant. Also, change the water inside the lucky bamboo container once a week, being sure to use only bottled water. Willi also recently created www.digginfood.com, a site that serves up gardening and cooking inspiration. Can you revive a dying Dracaena sanderiana? When leaves turn yellow due to excessive direct sunlight or the presence of fluoride in the water, they need to be trimmed off so that foliage continues to sprout. After rinsing the roots, put the lucky bamboo back into its container and add in a few marbles or pebbles around the roots to help support the plant. What causes brown tips on lucky bamboo leaves? This is a question I often came across during my search for how to get rid of black spots on Lucky Bamboo. Remove your lucky bamboo from its container. All Rights Reserved. Cut the yellowish portions of the bamboo leaves off by following the leaves' natural shape. Thoroughly wash the container and any pebbles or marbles used to support the lucky bamboo with warm, soapy water. How to Prevent Brown Tips on Lucky Bamboo. Many cities add fluoride to their water in an effort to prevent tooth decay. Dispose of the yellow leaves immediately to prevent them from attracting insects or spreading disease to your plants. You can treat the disease with a copper-based fungicide, but since the plants that … Pour rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and then rub the cotton over the blades of your shears. If your plant is getting too much sun, move it to an indirect sunlight location to prevent sunburn on the leaves. Refill the water in the tray as needed, usually once or twice a week. If you live in a dry climate, low humidity levels inside your home may also cause tip burn. To fertilize, just add a few drops of liquid organic houseplant fertilizer to the water when you change it. Lucky bamboo is pretty much the easiest houseplant to grow-just sink the stems into a small vase and fill with water! If you enjoy lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) in your home, you know that this plant requires less maintenance than other houseplants. Then, fill a small bowl with bottled water and gently rinse the lucky bamboo roots. When you water your lucky bamboo with tap water, these substances tend to build up in the tips of the plants' leaves, eventually killing the cells, which results in tip burn. Then, fill in the spaces between the stones with water, making sure the water doesn't cover the stones. Watering lucky bamboo with bottled water prevents tip burn in new plants and can fix an existing problem. Removing affected leaves will encourage new growth. This then causes the plant to start rotting. Place a layer of flat stones in the bottom of a shallow metal or plastic tray. If the damaged areas are circular raised and reddish brown lesions with yellow halos, the lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) has been infected with Fusarium Leaf Spot (Fusarium moniliforme). Under ideal conditions, the leaves of lucky bamboo can grow up to 1 inch per month. If your plant was watered with tap water previously, you may still see some tip burn after you switch to bottled water, but the problem should subside within 4 to 8 weeks. Be sure to leave the unaffected green areas intact so that they continue to grow. Here's how to prevent tip burn from affecting your lucky bamboo plant. If the bamboo disease treatment calls for pruning, disinfect the pruning shears between cuts by flaming the blades so that you don’t spread the disease. - YouTube A new bamboo plant benefits from watering once or twice a week until the plant reaches the three- to six-month mark. For the past five years, she has worked as the West Coast Editor of Organic Gardening magazine.