What Is the Meaning of Heart-Shaped Bamboo Plants?

Heart-shaped bamboo is a type of lucky bamboo shaped to form a heart. This plant is not really a bamboo. but is in the Dracaena family of plants and has long been a symbol of luck and success in the Asian culture. A heart-shaped bamboo adds to this the meaning of love.

Formed

Heart-shaped bamboo is created by methodically turning a stalk of lucky bamboo toward the light as it’s growing. This is a long and involved process, taking up to a year to achieve a single curve.

Care

Heart-shaped bamboo is easy to grow. Keep it from direct sunlight or the stalk will yellow. The plant flourishes in water. Use river rock or pebbles to stabilize the stalks. Once a week, replace the water in the bamboo’s container.

History

Heart-shaped, and all lucky bamboo, is most prized if received as a gift as it increases the benefits of the plant. Because lucky bamboo is resilient and grows quickly, it is thought to improve the energy of the room where it is placed.

Common problems

If leave your heart-shaped bamboo in stagnant water, the stalks can rot. The heavy metals and additives to tap water may also adversely affect your bamboo. To avoid this, use bottled spring water.

Purchase

Heart-shaped bamboo is available online at websites that sell feng shui products.

Shape A Bamboo Plant Into A Heart

Tie two stalks of similar-sized bamboo together at the bottom of the stalks and again 3 to 4 inches above the first tie. Fold the cardboard into three sections so it can be set like a screen around the plant. 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. Two inches is a suitable length for each side of the bottom half of the heart. 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.