How To Revive Bamboo Leaves Turning Yellow – 3 Key Steps

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I was once given a beautiful bamboo plant, and while it lasted for several weeks, I noticed the leaves began to turn yellow.

This puzzled me as I believed my bamboo plant was too young to have grown new leaves, so the yellowing was not due to natural aging. What was I doing wrong?

I decided to do my homework and learn about how to care for my bamboo plant so it wouldn’t turn yellow again. Here’s what I found.

 

How To Revive Bamboo Leaves Turning Yellow?

Change the lighting, begin watering from the bottom of the bamboo, and use a filter or mineral water instead of normal tap water. Bamboo plants are sensitive to light and the chemicals in water, which can cause their leaves to turn yellow. When watering the bamboo plant from the top of the shoots, this can also cause the shoots to turn yellow and rot. 

 

How To Regain Healthy Bamboo Leaf Growth

If you are sure that your bamboo isn’t turning yellow, you can try the following steps to revive your bamboo plant’s leaves.

 

Step One: Relocate

Move your bamboo to a shady and secure spot in your garden or a different room in your home.

Ensure this place is calm and won’t see your bamboo being disrupted or stressed by harsh sunlight, movement, strong winds, or passing people and animals.

 

Step Two: Water Appropriately

Choose to water your bamboo from the sides in a garden or water from the bottom up in a pot. You can also use a mister spray to water your bamboo, but be sure not to water the top of the stems.

Keep track of the bamboo’s water intake and how often you do it. It’s crucial that the soil’s dry up to your first knuckle once you stick your finger into the ground before you water.

Filter your water to remove heavy metal toxins and chemical pollutants that could severely damage your bamboo.

If you have a stream nearby that is clean, you can bottle water there for your bamboo’s consumption.

 

Step Three: Add Correct Nutrition

At the end of winter, I add in organic fertilizer that I use all over my garden. This provides a great nutrient boost to the soil, and it gives my plants, including my bamboo, a nice helping hand before their spring growth.

 

What Causes Bamboo to Form Yellow Leaves

Bamboo plants begin turning yellow when they suffer incorrect lighting, drown, or become sensitive to the elements in tap water.

 

Incorrect Lighting

Direct sunlight can be too harsh for a new bamboo plant, and it’s better to keep them indoors in an area with diffused lighting.

If you are starting your bamboo off outside, then you would do well to buddy them up with a larger tree that can provide shade to them during the afternoon heat.

 

Incorrect Watering

While bamboo likes water, if they are planted in boggy soil that becomes overwatered easily, they will die.

I realized quickly that my bamboo plants prefer to have sufficient moisture in their pot or in the garden to enable the roots to breathe. By using a well-draining potting mix, I can ensure my bamboo is happy.

 

Water Pollution

Since bamboo is a heavily water-reliant plant, it is also very sensitive to the harsh chemicals in tap water.

Most states in the U.S. add fluoride and forms of chlorine and fluoride to the water to ensure the water is safe for human consumption. Unfortunately, this makes the water unsafe for plant consumption.

Bamboo plants are especially susceptible to this.

I began watering my bamboo with bottled spring water, and what a difference this makes. If you can’t afford the cost of bottled water, you can collect rainwater too and simply water your bamboo appropriately.

 

Poor Soil Nutrients

Bamboo needs well-fertilized soil, but it doesn’t like to be burned by chemicals. I prefer to use an organic fertilizer that I add annually to my garden and pots.

If you purchase a fertilizer, be sure to get one that is recommended for leafy growth and green plants.

 

Stressful Environmental Conditions

In my garden, my first bamboo plant was planted near the garden gate. What I didn’t count on were my two dogs who would excitedly gather there, wagging their tails each time they saw me.

Their tails smacked my bamboo around, and soon, it began to look sickly and turn yellow.

This was far too much disruption and stress for the bamboo, so I had to replant it in a quiet corner of my yard and ensure it had the support of larger trees and bushes to help it grow tall and healthy.

 

Frequently Asked Questions about How to Revive Bamboo Leaves Turning Yellow

 

Can yellow bamboo turn green again?

Once a bamboo’s leaves have turned yellow, there is no going back. The best you can do is to cut these leaves off as they serve no purpose beyond being unsightly and draining the plant of nutrients.

 

How can you save a bamboo plant grown outdoors?

There are a few strategies to revive a dying outdoor bamboo plant. These include providing enough sunlight and water, fertilizing the soil appropriately, and checking that there isn’t an insect problem with your bamboo plant. With their soft and sweet leaves, bamboo plants are tasty treats to many boring insects and leaf eaters. This is why you need to get rid of bugs, but without damaging the tree.

 

How do I know my bamboo is being overwatered?

A bamboo plant can show several signs of receiving too much water, including the leaves turning yellow, roots becoming exposed and sickly yellow, and the leaves rotting on the plant.

 

No More Bamboo Boo-Boos

It’s not rocket science to grow beautiful and lush bamboo. I managed it in a remarkably short space of time.

Just ensure you meet the basic requirements of bamboo, which are to provide moderate sunlight, enough mineral or filtered water without drowning the roots, and feeding your bamboo with an annual fertilizing session.