As I became known for my plant collection, a friend bought me a lucky bamboo plant with three twirling stalks. I had also just bought myself a lucky bamboo plant with a singular straight stalk. These, however are not actually bamboo, they just look like it. They do, however, have a four-thousand-year long history stemming from China. As a theme, they represent good fortune with different numbers of stalk representing different fortunes. This includes:
Two Stalks: Love and doubling your luck
Three Stalks: Wealth, happiness, and a long life
Five Stalks: wealth involved in growing a business
Six Stalks: luck that will bring prosperity
Seven Stalks: Wealth, happiness, and good fortune
Eight Stalks: a great motivator and enhancer
Nine Stalks: a symbol of good fortune
Ten Stalks: completion and perfection
Twenty-one Stalks: abundance and blessing
These plants come in a variety of shapes and designs however they only grow in a straight stalk. Shaping them is a skill, and often takes over a year. My twirling lucky bamboo stalks were made by a skilled person spending approximately a year and a half slowly spinning my plant so that it could continue to move to the sun. However, it did not continue growing, nor will it continue to grow for you. It is fully grown when it comes to you. The leaves on the other hand, can grow quickly becoming quite large.
This plant does not come with any health benefits. People say that the health benefits come in the good fortunes that the plants attract to the household that the lucky bamboo lives in.
Care for these plants is abundantly simple. They are happy living just in distilled water or soft tap water. All you need to do is make sure that the roots remain covered and change the water every month or so. Beyond that, you need to make sure that the plant remains in indirect sunlight, otherwise they can burn pretty easily. These plants can easily last a decade with this simple care and considerations. This beautiful plant can and will become a long lasting and vital part of your household.
The Plant Basics 