HELP!
Two years ago, I bought a single short stalk of bamboo.
It's a lovely little thing, and I put it in a small ceramic dish that was hand made for me by a friend a long time ago.
I was hesitant to purchase bamboo, as my very dearest JReed told me in no uncertain terms that killing a bamboo plant would bring worse bad luck to me than walking under a ladder across the path of a black cat and breaking a mirror all in the same day.
"Much worse!" he said.
Knowing that I have about the same luck with plants as I do in the kitchen... ahem... he advised me quite seriously NOT to buy one.
"Don't tempt fate!" he said.
I thought "Meh... I could do it." I have two plants who've managed to hang on by the roots for several years.
So I bought one from the Dragon Boat Festival. I loved it. Talked to it daily, kept it watered, and enjoyed it devotedly.
Last year, since I'd done so well with my single stalk, I felt courageous... bold, even. And I bought two more stalks. Same festival. I put them on my desk at home, on either side of my computer. They lived harmoniously and happily. All 3 were doing quite well. Until...
I came to work on Monday and the single bamboo was yellow. It has since turned black. There are 3 yellowy brown leaves and three kind~of green leaves, so I am doing my utmost to nurse it back to health; but I have my doubts as to the success of this endeavor. Shhh... don't tell the plant.
The two at home are also not faring well... as of this week.
They have begun to shrivel and wilt... sad little bamboo stalks.
WHAT is going ON?
How does one save bamboo?
What if it's too late? How do I fix the luck?
Anxiously waiting...
Scarlett
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24 comments:
Maybe a new pot and new soil? you have me worried on your behalf! We have bamboo in our garden and it grows like crazy. Rain, drought, whatever, it carries on regardless. Oh, oh. Maybe it was not wise to say that, within earshot of the bamboo gods.....
Too much water? Too little water? Insufficient nutrients in the soil?
We take drastic action when our houseplants do this. We get a fish tank and they go into ICU - it works a treat, just like a terrarium.
As an aside, I wouldn't keep live plants near a computer - the energy output is not conducive to good health!
Oh no!...Kat runs screaming from Scarlet's blog bamboo curse X3?!!
Oh dear. I'd guess too much water as well, so maybe try to change the soil?
I've had plants deteriorate rapidly, too, for no apparent reason. I like to think of it as "just their time to go," but I still cry. I swear, I've cried every single time a plant has died in my care--luckily I'm usually pretty good with them so it doesn't happen *too* often, but still....
Maybe you've shocked them, how would you react every time someone called your name if it was Boo?
Sorry, lame joke. Pandas eat tons of Bamboo and they seem pretty lucky to me...hmmm thinks about it...am I making things worse? Well, look at it this way...no I'd better quit before I'm too far behind! :)
Molly,
You must have loads of great luck then! Bamboo that flourishes regardless of environment... I think I could take a lesson from that!
Vanilla!
No soil; just rocks and water in a little clay pot. They loved it until this week.
Not sure what is going on.
Fish tank ICU huh? I will seriously consider it.
So... is energy output from computers not condusive to human good health either?
Kat,
HA HA HA HA HA.... you're cracking me up!
Let's hope that's an old fortune cookie tale.
Sognatrice,
Lucky girl!
I'll send my plants to you for fixing then, okay?
Dear Jon,
*SO* glad to see you back!
Hopefully, there's nothing in a name...
Scarlett & Viaggiatore
You need to consider buying a Panda to munch on it - keeps it healthy Im told...
I thought the only way to kill bamboo was to pour gasoline on it and strike a match, then sow the ground with salt...wow, you must be GOOD!
Mutley!
So glad to see you here!
Hmm...
~$5 for bamboo stalks
~$$$$$$$$$$ for one Giant Panda Bear (endangered species list)
~$$$$$$$$ for natural habitat to put GPB in
~$$$$$$ for attorney when I am arrested for black market purchase of one Giant Panda Bear (because it's an endangered species)
~$$$$$$ for legal fines and fees
and a couple of decades in prison.
Well, it's tempting, but I think I might have to pass...
Thanks for the thoughts though!
Irrelephant,
You know I'm doing my best.
As usual.
Scarlett & Viaggiatore
quick!
quick!
grab up the boo-hooing bamboo,
jump on a plane to china,
trade it off rapidly
for cup of egg drop soup
then slip out the back door
and
fly home using fake passport...
back luck will NEVER find you.
:-)
{let me know how that works for you}
In answer to your question, I haven't found being near a computer for hours at a time to be conducive to good health!
You could paint the Pandas black bits white and tell people it was a Polar bear..
Oh dear. My fingers arent green at all, so I couln't offer advice. but I like the idea of having bamboo plants beside the computer. :-) I may just buy some.
lm not much of a green thumb but we have a bamboo shoot at home that thrived by living in a vase of water. l say give it lots of water!
Have you tried talking to them apparently it helps plants to grow stronger:)
I don't know anything about bamboo, alas. Bamboo and the climes where I live don't go together well ... now, ferns I do know about ... :)
I wish I had good advice for you, but since they've all gone bad at once, I'm guessing either weather or conspiracy. I'm likely to lean toward conspiracy.
dont know!
came here after googling my name hehe :D!!
It would be bad luck if they died but not if a panda ate them, right? Jon's the right track. You need to borrow panda. ;)
SPF,
I am off!
Great idea! I love egg drop soup!
Vanilla,
I agree... I should stop being by computers all together.
So... how do I blog without a computer?
Hi Mutley!
Obviously I'd need outdoor instead of indoor paint for that, right?
And, how do I explain a polar bear eating bamboo?
Seamus,
It's lovely!
Until it dies.
*sniff*
Cleo,
They all 3 live in little 'vases' of water.
I talk to them and rub the leaves a little quite often, but lately it just seems like I am trying to talk them into hanging on and living!
Chief,
I've heard that ferns are tough to keep... if I kill the bamboo (shhh..) then I am flat giving up.
One should accept ones limits, when one realizes them.
*sniff*... again.
Jules,
I fully agree with you.
Definitely, conspiracy.
How'd they conspire when they are in two different places?
These are the mysteries that could keep me up at night.
Endeavourme,
Welcome!
I'm guessing that you googled Scarlett then?
It's a lovely name.
Pearl!
Um... yah.
I'll have to find a panda to borrow; the 'painting a panda bear into a polar bear' idea is a bit sketchy at best, I think.
Cheaper, of course, but a little on the fringe side.
Scarlett & Viaggiatore
I read somewhere that the bamboo prefer distilled water or their leaves turn yellow.
My cats ate my first bamboo plant and they and I are still here. Have we been less lucky? Who knows. Now my bamboo lives at work.
Dear Sarala!
Distilled water, got it!
I am all over that!
Thank you!
Scarlett & V.
I have no suggestions, but I do hope your little bamboo plant recovers ^^
How much sun are they getting? Plants (particularly traditional outdoor plants) require sunlight. I'd also suggest Miracle-Gro soil. It makes every plant grow like crazy.
I think that You can relax. After all, bamboo shoots are a prized food in China, which of course requires the killing of that plant. Doesn't seem to faze the Chinese.
And now it's a hot item for flooring.
And pandas eat it, too.
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