Why Are The Leaves Of My Lucky Bamboo Turning Yellow?

Yellow leaves on your lucky bamboo? Don’t panic. Your plant is sending a message, and the fix starts with figuring out what it’s reacting to.

When the leaves of a plant start to yellow, it is often the first sign the plant is under some kind of stress. With lucky bamboo, that stress usually traces back to the water, the light, or how much water and fertilizer it gets.

Below are six common causes, how to tell them apart, and what to do about each one.

Why Are My Lucky Bamboo Leaves Turning Yellow?

Lucky bamboo is not a bamboo at all. It is Dracaena sanderiana, a tropical shrub from West Africa, according to NC State Extension. That matters for troubleshooting, because it reacts to stress the way other Dracaenas do, and Dracaenas are known for being touchy about water quality.

Here are the causes to check.

1. Chlorine, Fluoride or Alkaline Tap Water

Check this first, especially if your plant grows in a vase of water. UF/IFAS Extension says city water may have a pH that is too high (alkaline) for lucky bamboo, that even bottled drinking water may be too alkaline, and that city water may carry too much chlorine or fluorine.

Fluoride is a particular problem for this plant family. Clemson Extension says Dracaena is very sensitive to fluoride, with symptoms that include “yellowing of the tips or margins of the leaf or dead, scorched areas.” Dracaenas are also sensitive to tap water that contains salts and chlorine, which can brown the leaf tips.

One mix-up to clear up: chlorine and fluoride are not what makes water “hard.” Hard water is about dissolved calcium and magnesium, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The fix: Use distilled, rain or filtered water. Filtered water is the usual recommendation, and lucky bamboo can be grown in chlorine-free water. If filtered water isn’t possible, let tap water sit uncovered for at least one to two days. That lets chlorine escape, but standing water does not remove fluoride, so for fluoride you need distilled, rain or filtered water.

2. Too Much Direct Sun

Lucky bamboo likes bright light, but not sun beating down on it. Keep it in a bright room but not in direct sunlight, and never in a window. Bright, indirect light is best, and Missouri Botanical Garden says too much direct sun will scorch the foliage.

Dracaena sunburn shows up as sunken, rust-colored areas, usually near the leaf tips.

The fix: Move the plant out of the window to a spot in a bright room where direct sun doesn’t reach it.

3. Overwatering and Rotting Stems

Overwatering can cause yellowing of the leaves and rotting of the stems. In soil, too much water cuts off the oxygen roots need and favors root diseases.

Check the stalks as well as the leaves. Stems with root rot may be girdled at or near soil level by a ring of brown or black tissue, and infected roots turn brown to black and may be soft.

The fix: For plants in soil, lucky bamboo needs a moist potting mix, not a soggy one. Water when the top inch of soil is dry, let the pot drain thoroughly and don’t leave water in the saucer. If a stalk has gone yellow and soft, remove it from the arrangement so it doesn’t foul the water for the others. For a whole plant, if most of the roots are dark, soft and dead, it is better to discard it.

4. Too Much Fertilizer and Salt Buildup

Lucky bamboo needs very little food, so provide a weak liquid fertilizer. Extra fertilizer leaves salts behind, and high fluoride, boron or soluble salts can cause Dracaena leaf tips and margins to turn yellow or die.

Seeing a white or grey crust on the pot? It’s tempting to call it mold, but white to grey crusty deposits on the soil surface or the rim of the pot are a sign of salt buildup. Don’t confuse that crust with the white or yellow mold-like growth of soil fungi.

The fix: Cut back on fertilizer and follow the label on a diluted liquid product. Drench potted plants with water now and then to leach salts out of the potting soil, scrape off salt crusts and add fresh soil, and repot in new mix from time to time. For a plant in water, rinse the vase and pebbles and start with fresh water.

5. Too Little Light or Too Little Food

Yellowing can come from the opposite direction too. For houseplants in general, foliage may yellow from too little light, too little fertilizer, insect pests or mites.

The fix: If the plant sits in a dim corner and its new leaves come in pale, move it to a brighter spot that still avoids direct sun. A plant that has lived in plain water for a long time may need that weak liquid fertilizer.

6. Pests

Mealybugs, mites and scale insects are the pests to watch for on lucky bamboo. Look at the undersides of leaves and where the leaves join the stalk for white cottony clumps, small bumps or fine webbing.

The fix: Wipe off what you find with a damp cloth and keep checking every few days, since one pass rarely gets them all.

How To Help a Lucky Bamboo With Yellow Leaves

Once you know the likely cause, work through these steps:

• Trim the yellow leaves. It improves the look, but it won’t cure anything on its own. Dracaena leaf tips damaged by fluoride or salts will not recover, so the goal is healthy new growth.
• Check every stalk. A stalk that is soft, or ringed with brown or black tissue near the base, may have rot and should come out.
• Switch the water. Use distilled, rain or filtered water. Letting tap water stand uncovered for a day or two removes chlorine, not fluoride.
• Change the water weekly for plants grown in water. Weekly changes also prevent mosquitoes. Plants grown in water need a substrate such as pebbles for the roots.
• Move it out of direct sun but keep it in a bright room.
• Go easy on fertilizer, using only a weak liquid feed.
• Keep it above 60°F. Dracaenas should be kept above 60°F at all times and away from drafts; chilling injury shows up as slimy, dead spots on the leaves and heavy leaf drop.

Want the full care routine for healthy plants, from containers to arrangements? See our guide to growing Dracaena sanderiana (lucky bamboo).

Lucky Bamboo Is a Dracaena, So Treat It Like One

The name causes a lot of confusion. The common name refers to stems that look like bamboo canes, although the two plants are not closely related. It is one of many Dracaena species grown indoors, and the same water-quality sensitivity shows up across the family.

Many people keep lucky bamboo for good luck and as part of feng shui decor. Whatever it means to you, clean water and bright, indirect light are what keep it green.

Is Lucky Bamboo Toxic to Pets?

Yes. Its poison severity is rated low, but lucky bamboo is toxic to cats and dogs if ingested. Listed symptoms are vomiting, depression and anorexia, and the sap can cause skin irritation.

If you have pets, keep the plant out of their reach. Related: Are Dracaena Plants Toxic or Poisonous?

Getting Your Lucky Bamboo Back to Green

Yellow leaves are fixable. Start with the water, then the light, then the watering and feeding. Trim what’s damaged, pull any rotting stalks, and give the plant time to push out fresh green growth.

What turned out to be the cause of your yellow lucky bamboo leaves? Tell us in the comments.