Lucky Bamboo part II: The Rewilding

Last week in part I, I told how I had received two planters of Lucky Bamboo as gifts in February 2018. The plant’s scientific name is Dracaena sanderiana (it’s not really bamboo), and it’s commonly sold as stalks growing in water.

My planters (my sister-in-law calls them the Steves) kept growing and growing until I thought it best to plant them in dirt. Steve One adapted happily (see part I). It’s growing faster than ever and looks beautiful. Steven Two didn’t turn out as expected.

Above is a florist’s promotional shot of what Steve Two’s kind of planter looks like when you buy it: Stalks of Lucky Bamboo have been grown to wrap primly around a hidden plastic column. It’s pretty, and it was growing upwards at a healthy speed, so I thought if I put it in soil, it would continue to grow in a lovely tree-like shape.

Well, the stalks grew upwards nicely. But that’s not all they did. They clearly do not like being confined to that column and have found new ways to grow.

Shoots are poking up from the soil, as you can see, eleven at last count, but that number increases every week.

They’re also poking through the inside of the plastic column.

I could trim the shoots back, but that seems cruel. Or I could just stand back and let anarchy reign. The plant seems aggressively healthy, and what more can I ask for?