How Many Bamboo Stalks Are Lucky?

Last Updated on February 7, 2022 by Grow with Bovees

Have you ever heard of lucky bamboo stalks? Yes, it is a thing and there is a very interesting meaning behind this popular and attractive houseplant.

Carry on reading to see how many bamboo stalks are lucky…

Lucky bamboo is generally quite a low-maintenance indoor plant, making it easy to cultivate. The fact that lucky bamboo is not a fussy plant, is one of the main reasons as to why it is so popular among plant lovers.

There is, however, another very interesting fact about purchasing or gifting a lucky bamboo plant. Namely, it has the ability to transform lives. Sounds too good to be true right?

According to vastu shastra and feng shui, it is believed that if you place this amazing shrub in your home or even your office, it will bring you prosperity and fortune in all aspects of your life. This fortune has a lot to do with the number of stalks your lucky bamboo plant has.

In this article we will try and give you a better understanding of the number of stalks a lucky bamboo can have and what meaning they carry with them.

But first, let us look at the facts regarding this incredible plant and go through a quick care guide before we get to the mysterious part of it.

Facts & Common Names

The lucky bamboo plant — which is known to bring good luck — is botanically known as Dracena saneriana. This name comes from a famous German-English gardener named Henry Frederick Conrad Sander.

This magnificent plant is also known by a few other common names. These include:

  • Ribbon plant
  • Curly bamboo
  • Goddess of mercy plant
  • Chinese water bamboo
  • Belgian evergreen
  • Friendship bamboo

Basic Care Guide

As mentioned above, lucky bamboo is a plant that is easy to care for. It grows well in both soil or even just plain water. It can reach a height of 2-3 feet if taken care of properly.

Growing Lucky Bamboo In Soil

Simply plant the lucky bamboo in a pot with well-aerated potting soil. Make sure you water it enough, so that the soil remains moist without becoming waterlogged.

Growing Lucky Bamboo In Water

Grab a container of your liking and fill the bottom with some decorative pebbles and then add some water. The water should be a couple of inches above the pebbles. Place the lucky bamboo into the vase, making sure that its roots are submerged in the water.

Be careful that the roots do not start rotting. Prevent this by changing the water every couple of weeks. Healthy water smells fresh and looks clear.

Water

It is important that the water you use when growing lucky bamboo plants is free from fluoride and chlorine. Rather opt for using the best water for plants, which is water that is purified or distilled.

Water containing chemicals such as chlorine and fluoride affects the color of the plant, causing the leaves to go yellow or even brown infected leaves.

Light

The lucky bamboo thrives best in an area of bright but indirect light. The harsh rays of direct sunlight are not tolerated by this plant, and they will cause the foliage to burn, making it hard for the shrub to survive.

Remember to rotate the plant every so often. This is to ensure that the entire shrub receives equal amounts of light.

Fertilizer

If you wish to boost the growth of your lucky bamboo, simply add a few drops of fertilizer to the water once in a while, but be careful not to over-fertilize your bamboo plant if you want to avoid yellow leaves.

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We suggest that you use a fertilizer that is made specifically for lucky bamboo for the best results.

Temperature

Always make sure that your bamboo plant stays clear of any heating vents or air conditioners. Try to keep its surrounding temperature ranging from 65-90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Container

The container that you choose needs to be the correct size, too small and the roots will not have space to grow.

Select one where your plant has a minimum of 1 inch of space around it, so that there is enough space for its roots to spread out as they grow.

Propagation

Carefully separate each stalk, making sure that the roots stay intact. Select a stalk that is dark green in color and has a new offshoot developing at the top of it. The offshoot should be at least 4 to 6 inches tall and the stalk should have two nodes.

Continue by cutting the offshoot at its base close to where it connects to the parent stalk. After removing every single leaf from the offshoot, place it in a container of water — you want to remove the leaves to avoid rotting.

Feel free to place more than one cutting into the same container. Continue by following the care tips mentioned above, and your lucky bamboo plant should start growing in no time.

Toxicity

This plant is generally not a toxic threat to humans, but it may have toxic effects on cats and dogs if they ingest it. To be safe, place it out of reach of your pets — if you have any.

Now that we have covered the basic care needs of this incredible shrub, let us continue by explaining the meaning of the lucky numbers of the bamboo plant.

What Does Bamboo Symbolize?

Bamboo is believed to be a symbol of welfare, success, prosperity and good fortune. Hence, why the lucky bamboo plant is often linked to well-being, good luck and wealth.

This plant is typically given to people as a gift with the belief that it will reward them with better fortune with regard to abundance, health and capital.

Before gifting a bamboo plant, it is of high importance to know that you are giving the right amount of stalks, as some numbers of stalks can harm the life of the one that it is given to.

Lucky Bamboo Meaning & Number Of Stalks

When purchasing a lucky bamboo, you can get it as an individual stalk, or as more than one stalk tied together in a bunch. Each bunch of counting talks carries with it or represents a different meaning.

Lucky bamboo plants also come tied together in different shapes. Each different shape also comes with its own meaning.

One Lucky Bamboo Stalk

The lucky bamboo plant that has but a single stalk, is said to represent commitment, honesty and truth. It is also associated with things that are simple and easy.

Although not a very popular number of bamboo stalks, if you want the truth to prevail, place one stalk of bamboo in your house.

Two Stalks

If you are gifted a lucky bamboo that consists of 2 stalks, the person gifting it to you may be trying to express love, friendship or a brotherhood between two.

Two stalks are also believed to double your luck.

3 Stalks Bamboo Plant

A plant that has three bamboo stalks is quite a favorite number of combined bamboo stalks. A three-stalked lucky bamboo is believed to bring 3 kinds of luck (one for each stalk). Namely, wealth, happiness and a long life.

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Five Stalks

The 5 stalk lucky bamboo is associated with the five elements of nature — air, water, fire, earth and wood. Many positive aspects of life, such as health, prosperity, happiness and wealth, come to show when all five elements are in consensus with one another.

Therefore, 5 stalks represent peace, balance, harmony and power. If your goal is to be successful in life, place a bunch of 5 bamboo stalks in your home or office. They might help you achieve success due to the release of their positive energy.

Another belief is that the 5 stalks are related to the health of a human. Three stalks for physical, mental and emotional health, one stalk for spiritual health and the last one represents the overall factors of health.

6-Stalk Bamboo Plant

The number 6, in the Chinese language, sounds a lot like the word luck. This group of six stalks is associated with prosperity and wealth in professional ventures. A bamboo plant with 6 stalks may aid in difficult financial situations by giving luck to making a successful business.

Seven Stalks Of Lucky Bamboo

Seven is believed to be a lucky number and so seven stalks of lucky bamboo may bestow upon you good health — may it be physical or mental — as well as granting you luck in your financial condition.

Placing a seven-stalked bamboo into your home is also believed to gift you with more romance and love in your relationship, as the 7 stalks symbolize togetherness.

Eight Stalks

In a lot of Asian countries, the number 8 represents joy and great wealth. It is in fact, such a common belief, that businessmen try to incorporate the number eight in their mobile phone numbers, floor number, as well as in their business addresses and business names.

Eight stalks are also believed to improve fertility and are often associated with growth and thriving.

Nine Stalks

The number nine, in Asian countries, is known as God’s number and is henceforth believed to bring good fortune in all aspects of life.

Nine bamboo stalks are said to symbolize good luck and whoever has a lucky bamboo plant with 9 stalks in their house will be rewarded with great luck.

Ten Stalks

If you receive ten stalks of bamboo, the sender wishes that you have everything you wish for and desire in life, hoping that you find your life to be perfect and wishing that you feel complete and complacent.

21 Lucky Bamboo Stalks

If somebody gifts you with twenty one stalks of lucky bamboo, then they wish for you and your family a very powerful and overall blessing of wealth and enduring health.

And so there are plenty of numbers of bamboo stalks that symbolize different meanings. The above are the most common ones used when giving them as a gift or purchasing them for your own use.

There are also a few higher numbers that signify different meanings, although these would be hard to purchase as a gift. We will, however, name a few to give you an idea:

88-stalks signifies doubling happiness and the joy of life.

99-stalks meaning represents doubling the length of your relationship.

289-stalks symbolize finding luck and good fortune easily.

888-stalks will bless you with becoming three times wealthier.

You may have noticed that the number four was skipped further up, and with good reason. Continue on to learn why four bamboo stalks are not likely to be used when gifting or purchasing a lucky bamboo.

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Why Not 4 Stalks?

The number four is said to symbolize death and bad omen according to Chinese beliefs, spreading negative energy that could cause harm to other people if you were to gift this number to them.

If you were to visit China, you would even find that many high rise buildings do not include the number 4 on their floors or door numbers. It is believed by many that the number four can be detrimental to succeeding in life or business.

This is why it is very rare to find a lucky bamboo which consists of four stalks tied together.

Different Arrangements Of Bamboo Plants

When going out to purchase a lucky bamboo plant, you will find that there are many that are put together in a stylish, almost artistic way. There are so many beautiful and eye-catching varieties.

These decorative lucky bamboo plants are not only made for decorative purposes, but they do, in fact, also have a meaning to them.

Continue on for some examples of stylish lucky bamboo plants.

Woven Trellis Of Bamboo Tree

If you happen to find a lucky bamboo plant that is woven together and appears to look like a trellis door or fisherman’s net, give it to someone if you would like to help them eliminate the flow of bad or negative energies.

Bamboo Tower

If you want to wish upon somebody a brighter future, gift them with a tower of lucky bamboo canes. It is believed that a tower of bamboo will light up your life.

Lucky Bamboo Plants as a Gift

As mentioned many times above, lucky bamboo arrangements are great to give as a gift and many may find it wonderful to receive one.

These shrubs are often gifted at housewarming parties, birthdays, anniversaries, grand openings, award or achievement ceremonies, as a wedding gift and many other auspicious occasions.

You can choose between a beautifully woven one, or simply a few individual stalks tied together to symbolize a meaning of your choosing.

Receiving this plant as a gift, increases your luck.

Is It Bad Luck if Your Lucky Bamboo Plant Dies?

Seeing that a lucky bamboo plant is seen as a good omen that brings luck in many situations, many people might ask the question whether it does the opposite if you let it die.

Legend has it that you should keep your lucky bamboo plant alive for at least a year. If it should die before a year has passed, it is believed to bring you 29 years of bad luck.

I would say, do not chance it. If your lucky bamboo should start to develop yellow leaves, check out our guide here.

Care well for your bamboo plant, so that it may bring all the luck in the world, all while adding a beautiful splash of dark green color to your home and office.

Conclusion of Lucky Bamboo Numbers

This brings me to the end of this article about lucky bamboo stalks and lucky bamboo stalks meaning.

Purchase the right amount of stalks, and you can bless yourself or others with luck, wealth and good health. Remember to avoid the four stalks as you do not want to be responsible for placing a bad omen or negative energy upon somebody else or yourself for that matter.

Do a bit more research to find how many bamboo stalks are lucky and their meaning, and then find the perfect one that you can gift yourself, a friend or a loved one.

References;

https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/chiwonlee/plsc211/student%20papers/articles02/rkilzer/rkilzer.htm

https://studycli.org/chinese-culture/chinese-numerology/