Lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) is a popular house plant, as it requires little maintenance and has low light needs. Lucky bamboo is grown in small, shallow pots with either a small amount of soil, rocks, sand, or just water. However it is potted, keep the roots wet. Replace or add water weekly. Place the bamboo in an area with indirect sunlight or indoor lighting with temperatures between 65 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Young bamboo can be trained into shapes by rotating the plant to change the side that faces the light source.
Tie two stalks of similar-sized bamboo together at the bottom of the stalks and again 3 to 4 inches above the first tie.
Cut a piece of cardboard about 4 inches taller than the bamboo stalks, and long enough to surround the plant on three sides. Fold the cardboard into three sections so it can be set like a screen around the plant. Cut a top for the "screen" and tape it down. The cardboard will shield the bamboo from the light on all but one side, forcing it to grow in that direction toward the light source. The two stalks will grow the same direction, but you will turn them at the end of the process so they face away from each other.
Continue watering the plant as normal. The bamboo grows at a rate of 3 to 6 inches a year, so training can take several months to complete. Check the plant's growth whenever you water it. Both the stalks should grow at an angle toward the light source beginning above the top tie. Two inches is a suitable length for each side of the bottom half of the heart.
Turn the plant to face the opposite direction once the sides of the heart have grown long enough. The plant will curve to grow in the opposite direction. Monitor this growth as you water the plant. Once the growth in the new direction is about two-thirds the length of the sides of the heart, you can form the heart shape.
Remove the screen. Rotate the two stalks so the growth above the tie forms a "V" for the bottom of the heart. The growth from the second direction should meet in the middle. Pull the two ends together and tie them to close the heart. The bamboo should retain the heart shape as it grows once it is getting light from all sides.
Things You Will Need
- Twist ties
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