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Propagating Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena) from Stem Cuttings

A reader asks if they can cut a 4-inch section from the bottom of a “lotus bamboo” (lucky bamboo) stalk, keep the rooted bottom half, and root the top half in water.

What Is Lucky Bamboo?

It’s not bamboo or lotus—it’s Dracaena sanderiana. Very easy to propagate.

Cutting and Rooting

Cut at a node (joint) on the stem.
Place the top cutting in gravel/marbles with water (like the original).
The bottom rooted portion will continue growing.
Both sections typically reroot and thrive.

Change water weekly; provide bright indirect light.

Seeding and Propagation: Flowering Bamboo Decline: Revival Options Limited; Buying Bamboo Seeds: Caution and Climate Advice; Fast Privacy Screen on a Budget – Bamboo in Containers; Eradicating Invasive Bamboo in Northern Virginia; Pogonatherum 'Monica' Care: The 'Bamboo' That's Actually a Grass; Eliminating Insects in Lucky Bamboo Water; "Lotus Bamboo" vs. "Lucky Bamboo": Marketing Names for Dracaena Cuttings; Lucky Bamboo Propagation: From Water Culture to Soil and Cuttings; Propagating Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena): Simple Water Rooting with Rooting Hormone; Organic Methods to Control Invasive Bamboo in Your Yard

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