Lucky Bamboo

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of directing energy. The word itself literally translates into "wind" and "water." Known to the Chinese as the two life forces that flow freely over the earth, creating the central energy known as "chi.” The bringing of natural elements to the home and directing the chi throughout the home brings its occupants harmony and balance. Feng Shui applies to houseplants, this I did not know.

I have an ivy plant, a spider plant and a baby spider plant. I have had the mother plant for about five years, very resilient. I have had a few house plants throughout the years but only these three have I managed not to kill.

The first ivy I had, I kept it out of the steps one summer, until one day my neighbors dog came running up them with her tail anxiously wagging, and knocked the poor plant down the whole flight of stairs, tumbling over, the soil down each step, till it landed at the bottom, half in the pot, half out. That was traumatic for the fragile ivy, after re-potting it died shortly there after, (clearing not my doing.)

Though the latest casualty, took a period of time. A three year old Lucky Bamboo, four stalks in all, beautiful to look at, pleasing and vibrant, then one day leaves turned yellow, followed by the stalk until it just keeled over and died. According to Feng Shui, to kill Lucky Bamboo is very unlucky.

So I thought that maybe I should do a little research to help my cause, and see how to keep houseplants alive, seems how I already know so much about killing them.

The first thing I learned was that they need to be watered. Go figure, I mean obviously this is something that I knew, but my house is so dry, especially come winter, I have failed to recognize the need to increase the frequency of watering and forgot to mist them. They suggest filtered water, or collected rainwater for bamboo rather than the tap because of the chlorine and minerals can cause the discoloration in the leaves. That was my first mistake.

Secondly, I learned about lighting; some need direct light, where others need indirect.Placement is important not only for livelihood, but also for energy flow.

Thirdly, I learned that plants also need fertilizers to be administered from time to time for nourishment to encourage growth. Bamboo have there own special liquid solution you drop into the water. I guess that was my second mistake. Where is that bottle anyway?

There are lots of variables to consider in the care of houseplants. Sometimes when the leaves turn brown it is caused by too much water not too little. Or Leaf drop, so they call it, when the leaves just fall off, this can be caused by lack of water or exposure to a draft. That would explain what happened to the avocado tree I sprouted from the pit, I kept it near the door, all its leaves fell off, then it just shivered and died.

Now considering all cause and effects to houseplant survival, I now am better prepared to monitor moisture, lighting levels, drafts, and the placement of my three surviving houseplants.I can better align and redirect my chi to find the harmony and the balance within my home.

The mother spider plant sits in the kitchen, its leaves yellowing, the babies wilting, just dangling there as I stand at the sink downing a class of water. Now that I know they are watching, I'll try to quench their thirst, when I quench my own. Thank goodness the mother spider plant is so patient with me.

As for the Lucky Bamboo, apparently it isn’t even bamboo at all. Its botanical name is Dracaena, a resilient member of the lily family that grows in the dark in tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia and Africa. Moreover, according to the last of my research; the number of stalks also have meaning: three stalks for happiness; five stalks for wealth; six stalks for health. Four stalks, however, are always avoided since the word "four" in Chinese sounds too similar to the Chinese word for "death!" I guess my Lucky Bamboo, wasn’t so lucky to begin with.

If you'll excuse me now I need to go water my plants.