The popular houseplant, known to many as lucky bamboo, is similar to wild Asian bamboo only in appearance, but originates from the forests of tropical Africa. The real name of decorative bamboo is Dracaena Sandera, and it belongs to the Asparagus genus. Confusion does not prevent the elegant plant from being successfully cultivated indoors. It does not require special care, and besides, the flower is endowed with the property of attracting prosperity and good luck to the house.
Indistinguishable from bamboo Source images.wemystic.com
What does it look like
Dracaena sandera is a perennial evergreen plant with attractive characteristics:
- The flower has a fleshy segmented stem, with characteristic constrictions reminiscent of bamboo. Initially plastic, over time the stem hardens, especially at the junction of the segments.
One of the varieties of dracaena Source fermer.blog
- The top is crowned with light green, single-color, lanceolate-shaped leaves, glossy in appearance and dense to the touch. Some hybrid varieties have more interesting leaf colors: stripes or with a border around the edge, light or dark.
- When grown indoors, dracaena grows to a height of up to one meter.
Composition of several stems Source www.hortipoint.nl
- Not all varieties bloom at home, and flowering itself occurs rarely and coincides with the warm season. Small white buds are collected in inflorescences.
- The leaves and stems of dracaena are mildly toxic and can cause symptoms of poisoning in a dog or cat that tries them.
Be careful with pets!
Source mothership.sg In specialized stores you can most often find dracaena with a spiral-shaped stem; This is how they represent it: “spiral bamboo.” A barrel twisted into a spiral is not a natural feature; the effect is created artificially.
The stem of a young plant, until it becomes woody, is particularly flexible and pliable. Gardeners have learned to use this property by practicing bending shoots in different ways. After the plants reach a certain age, the auxiliary parts are removed, and the shoot retains its spiral shape.
In Asian style Source deloindom.delo.si
Giants
And, finally, large, completely southern-looking bamboos. These are fargesia, or synarundinaria, brilliant (Fargesia nitida) and Murielae (F.murielae). I was surprised to discover that quite a lot of their varieties are cultivated in Europe, differing in growth patterns and appearance (by the way, all these forms were selected from seedlings during the last mass flowering and fruiting of Fargesia in the 70s–90s of the last century). Our garden centers have also begun to offer their planting material. It was there, 8-9 years ago, that I acquired two small bushes of the varieties 'Jumbo' and 'Simba'. Now these are already large plants - the first has grown to 2.5 meters in height, and you can hardly grasp it with your hands, the second (due to varietal characteristics) is slightly smaller in height, but more spreading, like a “fountain”. Fantastic spectacle! Fargesia make a particularly strong impression at the end of April - beginning of May, when I remove their coverings, lift and shake the stems, and in the middle of the still empty garden two luxurious green, summer-leafy bushes suddenly appear. And just like that, only even fresher and brighter due to the growing young leaves, they remain until late autumn. The beauty of their surroundings is also emphasized: a rhododendron bush nearby, a tiny pond, ferns and Siberian irises along its banks. Everything as a whole gives this corner of the garden an amazing charm.
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How to grow
Due to its appearance, decorative indoor bamboo is an ideal option for home landscaping. It is also recommended to be grown in the winter garden and used in floral arrangements. The flower looks good both individually and in group planting. It is proposed to contain Dracaena in three ways:
- In water. To prevent the stems from starting to rot, pour a little water, a couple of centimeters above the root system. Clean water is suitable for use (chlorinated tap water must be settled), which is changed every 7-10 days. Periodically, the plant is fed with mineral fertilizers (according to the instructions), adding them directly to the water.
In the water Source 2.bp.blogspot.com
- In the ground. Before planting in the ground, bamboo is given time to develop a sufficient root system. The pot should contain not only soil, but also a drainage layer (expanded clay or pebbles are suitable). The soil should be light and dry quickly after watering. A ready-made substrate for dracaenas is ideal, as is a mixture for palm trees or ferns.
Using decor Source www.thespruce.com
- In hydrogel. Bamboo in a clear container filled with colorful hydrogel beads is an acceptable decor for most styles. Hydrogel balls are filled with clean water according to the instructions; The filler is enough for 2-3 years of use. Caring for the plant consists of periodically adding water and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers. If the granules are large, you need to make sure that the roots are not exposed to air.
In hydrogel Source obustroeno.com
See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in designing and performing landscape work of any complexity
Signs and superstitions
According to the teachings of Feng Shui, indoor bamboo can attract good luck and prosperity to the home and positively influence the energy of the home. According to Chinese superstition, this plant is a talisman against evil forces and failures.
It is believed that depending on the number of stems, a flower affects different areas of life. If there are 3 of them, it means that you will be blessed with good luck, good mood and positive energy.
If the plant has 5 stems, the wealth in the house will increase. If you want to improve your health and protect yourself from diseases, grow bamboo with 7 stems. A flower with 21 stems will improve the life of the owner in everything.
According to Feng Shui, next to the ornamental plant you need to place a protective talisman and a symbol of prosperity and wealth - the three-legged toad Chan Chu.
This will enhance the positive effect and magical properties of bamboo.
Principles of care
Bamboo is not particularly picky and adapts to a fairly wide temperature range. The plant does well in temperatures between 18 and 35°C, but should not be placed in front of an air conditioner or vent. When breeding dracaena, it is useful to adhere to the following maintenance recommendations:
- Lighting. Decorative bamboo, native to shady tropical forests, does not like direct sun, so it is not left on the windowsill for a long time. At the same time, the place should be sufficiently illuminated, possibly with the help of artificial lighting.
In the interior of the kitchen Source attuale.ru
- Humidity. Dracaena Sandera is not picky about humidity levels; she is quite happy with the air of modern apartments. If the atmosphere is too dry, it is recommended to wipe the leaves from time to time with a damp cloth and spray them periodically.
Spraying Source www.rd.com
- Watering. The best option would be to use soft water (for example, melt water), but settled water is also suitable. The plant does not respond well to drought, so you need to carefully monitor the soil moisture or water level. On average, water is added (or changed) once a week.
Bamboo needs quality water Source cf.ltkcdn.net
- Feeding. In stores it is often customary to overuse fertilizers, so after purchasing bamboo you should wait 1-2 months before starting fertilizing. All additives are added according to the recommendations; for dracaena in water, the dosage is reduced.
Plants ready to plant Source iorigen.com
- Trimming. It is necessary so that the flower does not lose its decorative effect by stretching beyond measure. The bamboo is simply shortened to the desired height, and a new plant is sprouted from the cut top.
Section processed after trimming Source ogorod-bez-hlopot.ru
- Transfer. It is carried out once every two to three years for ground plants. In order not to damage the delicate roots, a gentle method is used - transshipment.
Root system Source archidea.com.ua
- Reproduction. At home, the easiest way is to use cuttings, in which the apical shoots (cuttings) are cut off, and the cut site is treated with crushed coal or wax. The cuttings are placed in water; They can be planted in the ground after the roots have sprouted. On the mother stem, shoots will also begin to sprout from the buds under the cut site.
Propagation by cuttings Source www.iphones.ru
Propagation of dracaena by cuttings
Dracaena can be easily propagated from cuttings .
You need to choose a shoot that is quite tall, with several leaves at the top. Cut the shoot at an angle with a sharp knife, approximately a centimeter from where it grows from the stem.
If the main stem of a dracaena is cut, the pruning is done above a node of the stem.
The cut is treated with an antiseptic - charcoal, ash, garden pitch, wax.
The cut cuttings are placed in water, in a bright place, but away from direct sunlight.
How to twist a spiral
Intertwined and spiral-twisted bamboo stems are in high demand. Making a plant bend in the right way is difficult and painstaking work. It takes gardeners months of daily labor to shape and curve a bamboo plant beautifully.
How to bend bamboo Source bronx120.org
The formation of the trunk begins after a strong root system has formed. One way is to place the sprout in a curved tube. The gardener monitors the growth by controlling the size of the stem. When the desired form is obtained, the plant is released from captivity.
Regular and molded bamboo Source www.jornalahora.com
The stems always grow towards the sun. This law serves as a key operating element in another common forming method. In Asian countries, growing on its side is practiced. The flower is placed in a box open on one side; it must be rotated relative to the light, observing regularity. Theoretically, this process can be reproduced at home.
Decor for every taste Source 4.bp.blogspot.com
Growing at home with limited access to light is a time-consuming task that can take more than one month. You can grow decorative bamboo at home in a simplified way, using young stems that have not yet hardened. To do this, the plastic stem is fixed on a support of the desired shape using thin wire and tape. When the bamboo stem is completely lignified, the support is carefully removed.
In an eco-interior Source raw.cdn.baca.co.id
"Bamboo Death"
My first experience of growing bamboo, alas, was unsuccessful. A small shoot of Fargesia nitida, received as a gift from a fellow gardener, died within a couple of years after planting. But not because he was cold or didn’t like the conditions of my garden. It just... bloomed and died! And the mother plant, alas, too. This is because bamboo has one mysterious property that shocks both botanists and residents of those places where it is found in the wild. A clump (or a whole grove) of bamboo can grow beautifully for 20, 50 or even more than 100 years, but then, having “counted down” its allotted lifespan, it begins to flower, and after the fruits ripen, it dies. Moreover, all plants obtained as a result of vegetative (shoots, dividing a bush, cuttings) propagation of the mother plant “receive a signal” simultaneously, regardless of what place and even what continent they are in. In some states of India, this phenomenon is called “bamboo death”, since for the people living there, the fruiting and death of huge bamboo groves turns into a real natural disaster.
Features of bamboo
Bamboo growing in the wild is incredibly large. The stems (straws) are characterized by rapid growth, they are woody and branch in the upper part. Their height can vary from 35 to 50 meters. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on earth. The short-petioled leaf blades are lanceolate in shape. On special branches with scale-like leaf plates, multi-flowered spikelets are placed singly or in groups. Bisexual flowers bloom only once in several decades, and mass and very lush flowering is noted. Interestingly, flowering begins at almost the same time on all plants in a given population. After the grains in the flower scales have fully ripened, they fall out, where they are carried by streams of water or animals. When fruiting is completed, the plant dies off entirely, but sometimes the roots may remain.
Bamboo has been used as a building material for a long time. Blow tubes or gutters are made from the dried stem.
Bamboo
