Growing lucky bamboo

[Atitagain]

I’ve had this s lucky bamboo for 6-ish months, while it seems to look healthy (to me) but don’t think it has grown taller at all. I’ve had it suspended in the water with nothing under the base. I was thinking maybe it will do better if it is touching at the bottom. In the pics you can see I set up a basket of sorts because none of the plants are long enough to touch bottom. I’ve also left a lot more above the water line. Before the stalk was below water up to about 2-3” from where spiral starts. Now only 3-4” is submerged. I measured the stalks all are 10-12” from base to where spiral starts. I want to keep them in this tank to grow out and eventually touch bottom,  have made the basket to be adjustable as the plant grows.

questions: is it best for base to be touching?  Is there/ what is normal growth rate for bamboo? Any tips for better growth?

good day and thank you.

 

[Guppysnail]

From my experience I see very little if any growth from roots to where the spiral starts. I have 10 pieces too short that do not seem to have grown from roots to spiral base  in the past year more than an inch…IF I’m lucky. All the growth I see is from the new shoots. About the only noticeable growth I have seen below the spiral is one of mine sent out a new shoot completely submerged. I’ll try to get a picture when the lights come on but it may be hidden behind plants right now. 
 

@Odd Duck and @dasaltemelosguy have the best growth I’ve seen on them so maybe they can shed light.  

Edited September 19, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Odd Duck]

I see growth from the tip only, not along the length of the stalk.  I have also had a new start pop out the side of the stalk like @Guppysnailhas, but it got bumped and broken off.  @dasaltemelosguy has been growing it the longest that I know about on here on the long stemmed stuff.  I don’t believe that it grown in length from the stalk itself, only growing from the tip.  Mine have the straight stalk, then the spiral part, then the sprouts from the side of the spiral part near the tip which is the part that actually grows in length.  Buds can break from the sides of the stalks, possibly in response to a lighting change or an injury above the spot where the new bud breaks through.

I know when they cultivate dracaena species (what lucky “bamboo” is) and they want to,trigger branching, they make small cuts into the stem just above where they want the branch and above one of the nodes or rings on the stem.  The plant will heal the cut but it triggers the bud to develop by concentrating nutrients into because flow of sap past it has been at least temporarily stopped.

if you look at your bamboo, you’ll see that at the end of the spiral part is a blunt cut.  So I’m pretty sure they grow they cut segments straight first to the length they want, then start wrapping them around something and reposition them flat so the growing bit is always facing up.  The slowly roll the potted stem segment so as it grows upward toward the light it is also wrapping around the cylinder and gradually forms the spiral.  They may not even need to wrap it around a cylinder if they are careful in the timing on turning each one.  Once they have the length they want on the spiral, they cut that end off, stand the pot back up, and wait until a bud breaks through and starts growing.

I suspect the stem might thicken a little but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t lengthen any once it gets to the woody stage of the “bamboo” stems.  Only when it’s a fresh, tender growing tip does it lengthen.

[dasaltemelosguy]

On 9/19/2022 at 7:56 AM, Odd Duck said:

I see growth from the tip only, not along the length of the stalk.  I have also had a new start pop out the side of the stalk like @Guppysnailhas, but it got bumped and broken off.  @dasaltemelosguy has been growing it the longest that I know about on here on the long stemmed stuff.  I don’t believe that it grown in length from the stalk itself, only growing from the tip.  Mine have the straight stalk, then the spiral part, then the sprouts from the side of the spiral part near the tip which is the part that actually grows in length.  

That's exactly what mine did. I had to bury the roots as the severums seem to find them delicious (in fact, it's my only tank where the pothos doesn't grow as well because the severums keep eating the pothos roots!). The original bamboo stems don't seem any different to me either. The height is all new growth. Mine seemed to follow the grow lights. We did see very accelerated growth after putting those in. Those eventually hit the ceiling and the bamboo stopped growing when the leaves touched the ceiling, thankfully!

 

[Atitagain]

@Guppysnail @Odd Duck @dasaltemelosguy thanks so much for the info. Now I see, I bought the 12” expecting the stalk to grow. (Someone forgot to do the homework 🙋🏻‍♂️) Glad I asked tho what I’m setting up for long term on this tank I will need to get 24-30” then I can use this on my African cichlid tank. I’ve got new growth on them all so sounds good. 
I had a plan, time for a new plan.

[Odd Duck]

On 9/19/2022 at 6:05 PM, Atitagain said:

@Guppysnail @Odd Duck @dasaltemelosguy thanks so much for the info. Now I see, I bought the 12” expecting the stalk to grow. (Someone forgot to do the homework 🙋🏻‍♂️) Glad I asked tho what I’m setting up for long term on this tank I will need to get 24-30” then I can use this on my African cichlid tank. I’ve got new growth on them all so sounds good. 
I had a plan, time for a new plan.

Your 12” stalks will be perfect for a 10 gallon, a 20 long, even a 5 gallon.  Any number of cubes, bookshelf tanks, etc.  I’d like to see a bunch of them in a 20 long!  Like @dasaltemelosguybig electric blue acara tank but in miniature.  Put some shellies in there with something not too small as dithers.  Would be very cool!  Bamboo forest effect!

[Robstar]

@dasaltemelosguy what kind of grow lights are you using? Also have you grown any other kinds of plants out of your aquariums?

[dasaltemelosguy]

Mine are nothing special, but I did see a great deal of growth after the lights were in place. These are what I have:

Grow Lights

I tried peace lilies, anthurium and monstera but once I introduced the bamboo, I couldn't keep those alive. Only the pothos seems able to compete with the bamboo. It's a lot of it, 20 stalks in a 75-gallon tank so it may just be quantity. 

[Odd Duck]

On 9/22/2022 at 9:56 AM, dasaltemelosguy said:

I tried peace lilies, anthurium and monstera but once I introduced the bamboo, I couldn't keep those alive. Only the pothos seems able to compete with the bamboo. It's a lot of it, 20 stalks in a 75-gallon tank so it may just be quantity. 

Hmmm.  I have peace lilies doing great in my 75 G Jack Dempsey tank with the whole curtain down the back of pothos and the lucky bamboo.  The lilies are rooted in sponge packed HOB’s so I wonder if the sponges catch enough gunk that they serve as a nutrient sink for the peace lilies and some of the pothos?  Or maybe it’s my laziness on water changes plus the giant medusas of pleco poop I find when I finally do get around to a water change?  I should probably actually get around to testing my water once in a while.  🤷🏻‍♀️ 😂