If you’re looking for a low-maintenance plant to bring good fortune your way, look no further than lucky bamboo. Also known as Dracaena sanderiana, lucky bamboo plants are known for their interesting and unique stems, which can be grown in various structural shapes. As their name suggests, the lucky bamboo is an auspicious plant in the practice of Feng Shui. Read on to learn where to position lucky bamboo in the home to reap its benefits and help your plant thrive.
- Where to Position Lucky Bamboo in the Home – The Essentials
- About Lucky Bamboo Plants
- Lucky Bamboo Plants and Feng Shui
- Where to Position Lucky Bamboo in the Home
- Where Not to Place Lucky Bamboo in the home
- Essential Lucky Bamboo Plant Care
- Where to Position Lucky Bamboo FAQs:
- The Best Position for Lucky Bamboo – The Final Word
Where to Position Lucky Bamboo in the Home – The Essentials
To attract wealth and prosperity, position lucky bamboo in the upper left corner of a room or home. To improve relationships, place a lucky bamboo in the upper right corner. Lucky bamboo grows best in spots with bright indirect light, temperatures between 65 and 90 degrees F, and relatively high humidity.
About Lucky Bamboo Plants
The lucky bamboo is a member of the Dracaena genus. Its species name, Dracaena sanderiana, comes from Henry Frederick Conrad Sander, a German gardener.
Dracaena belongs to the Asparagaceae family, which contains about 114 genera and 2,900 species, including popular landscape and indoor plants such as bluebells, hosta, yucca, snake plants, and spider plants.
Despite lucky bamboo’s common name, it’s not actually bamboo. And despite its popularity in the Chinese practice of Feng Shui, lucky bamboo isn’t native to China, either. Rather, D. sanderiana is native to Central Africa.
Here, it grows in the dappled shade and rich humus of the tropical forest floor. Humidity levels remain relatively high, and temperatures are stable and warm year-round. In these conditions, the lucky bamboo can grow up to five feet tall. When grown indoors, the plants are much smaller and grow more slowly.
Lucky Bamboo Plants and Feng Shui
You’ll often see lucky bamboo on lists of the best Feng Shui plants. This ancient Chinese practice is concerned with the placement of objects within a room or home in order to direct the flow of energy. Objects can attract or deflect energy, both positive or ch’i and negative or sha.
Plants (and other living things) have special significance in Feng Shui. They can both attract positive energy and deflect Sha. Plants are associated with the “wood” element. This is connected to nature and growth.
But the placement of lucky bamboo within a room, home, or office matters, too. Where you position the plant can affect how it attracts or deflects energy. Of course, you must also consider the plant’s environmental needs.
Lucky bamboo is thought to bring good fortune in several areas of life. These attributes are tied to the number of stalks on a lucky bamboo. Different numbers of stalks have different significance, such as:
- Two stalks for love
- Three for happiness, wealth, and longevity
- Five stalks for balance, harmony, peace, and power across multiple parts of life
- Six stalks for wealth and prosperity
- Seven stalks for health
- Eight stalks for growth
- Nine stalks for great fortune and luck.
- Ten stalks for perfection
- Twenty-one stalks for rare and powerful blessings
You may have noticed that there isn’t a positive attribute associated with four stalks. This is because in the Chinese language, the words for “four” and “death” sound similar. A lucky bamboo with four stalks would be considered unlucky and even considered rude if given as a gift.
Lucky bamboo’s physical attributes also make it auspicious. Because it grows quickly and is strong and resilient, it’s associated with nobility, flexibility, and growth. Its hollow stem is also aligned with openness and humility.
Where to Position Lucky Bamboo in the Home
How do you know where to position lucky bamboo in your home to reap specific benefits? Start by using a Bagua map.
Feng Shui Theory and the Bagua Map
The Bagua map can be used as a guide to determine the best placement for your lucky bamboo. Bagua can be translated into “eight” or ba and “areas” or gua. These eight areas form a three-by-three grid (with a center area known as Tai Qi) or into an octagon. Each gua has its own attributes, which include parts of life, an element, colors, and a direction.
Simply, starting at the top center area of the octagon and moving clockwise, the gua include:
- Xun: money/wealth/abundance; wood; purple; south-east
- Li: Fame and reputation; fire; red; south
- Kun: love/marriage/relationships; earth; pink; south-west
- Dui: children/completion; metal; white; west
- Qian: travel/helpful people; metal; gray; north-west
- Kan: career/life path; water; black; north
- Gen: knowledge; earth; dark blue; north-east
- Zhen: family/new beginnings; wood; green/teal; east
Position the Bagua with the Kan, or career, area over the main entryway of your house or room. Of course, not all spaces are perfect squares, so just do your best to align the Bagua with your space. Now you can associate the different parts of the room or home with the different areas of life you want to activate.
To activate a gua, place an aligned attribute in that area. Lucky bamboo is especially associated with Xun, or wealth and prosperity, so you can place it in the upper-left area of your room, home or office.
Lucky bamboo is also associated with the Kun, or relationship gua. This means the upper-right portion of your home or space is a good placement.
You may also place the lucky bamboo on your office desk or near the entrance to your home or the door to your room. This can attract good fortune into your career and your space.
Plant Care Needs and Position
When you’re following Fung Shui principles, it’s still important to make sure your plant is growing in the right environmental conditions. Fortunately, lucky bamboo is a low-maintenance plant. This means choosing a spot that’s sheltered from bright light, doesn’t drop below 65 degrees F, and isn’t near cold or hot drafts.
Where Not to Place Lucky Bamboo in the home
Avoid placing lucky bamboo, or any live plant, in the center of your room or home. It may weaken positive energy due to a clash of wood and water elements.
If you want your bedroom to be a calm space, avoid placing lucky bamboo (or other live plants) in the room. Live plants may bring too much energy to an area you wish to be calm and relaxed.
Don’t place a lucky bamboo plant in any spots where it’ll be exposed to bright, direct light. Finally, avoid spots with cold or hot drafts.
Essential Lucky Bamboo Plant Care
In their native habitat, lucky bamboo grows in the warm, humid conditions of the tropical rainforest. They’re bathed in dappled light and grow up to five feet tall in the rich, moist soil.
Lucky bamboo will grow best when you replicate these conditions as much as possible. Fortunately, these plants can tolerate a range of growing conditions. However, optimal conditions include the following:
- Bright but indirect light, such as that found in an east-facing window, near a south- or west-facing window, or in a south- or west-facing window that’s covered with a sheer curtain.
- Temperatures that remain between 65 and 90 degrees F.
- Relatively high humidity.
- Rich, moist soil in a well-draining container or a few inches of water that’s kept clean.
- Use distilled or rainwater, as lucky bamboo is sensitive to chemicals often found in tap water.
- Fertilize with highly diluted fertilizer once per month, spring through fall only.
Where to Position Lucky Bamboo FAQs:
What room is best for Lucky Bamboo?Â
To attract wealth and prosperity, a room in the upper left corner of your home is best. To improve relationships, place lucky bamboo in the upper right part of the house.
How far away from the window should Lucky Bamboo be?Â
Though lucky bamboo can grow in low light conditions, it doesn’t thrive in bright light. Keep it a few feet from south and west-facing windows.
Can I put my Lucky Bamboo in a corner?Â
You can place lucky bamboo in a corner, as it tolerates lower light. However, it will grow less quickly in low light.
Can Lucky Bamboo thrive in low-light environments?Â
Lucky bamboo can tolerate and grow in low-light environments. However, it prefers bright indirect light and will grow more slowly in lower light exposures.
Can Lucky Bamboo tolerate drafts?Â
No, lucky bamboo cannot tolerate drafts. Keep it in a space that’s between 65 and 90 degrees F.
The Final Word
As its name suggests, lucky bamboo is an auspicious plant in the tradition of Feng Shui. Active positive energy by placing it in the Kun — or relationship — area, or the Xun — or wealth and abundance — area. Along with good fortune, lucky bamboo adds a fresh, attractive touch of evergreen foliage to any room. The attractive structural stems and easy care make this popular indoor plant an excellent choice for almost any space.
Linsay is an American copywriter based in the Pacific Northwest with a background in academic writing and research. Linsay holds Master's degree in both Anthropology and Library and Information Sciences and has written for numerous national and international publications including USA Today, SFGATE, Hunker, and The Bump across an array of topics in the gardening, green living, and travel sectors. When she's not writing, you'll usually find Linsay reading, kayaking, sailing, snowboarding, or working in her garden.
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