Here is Bob when I first got him. The pink bit on the left is part of the lei my friends dressed me up in for my birthday.
Over the past two years Bob leafed out quite a bit! Here he is fully grown and dressed up for Halloween.
But then, Bob got sick. I didn't notice it at first because it started on his back side. But his stems were starting to turn yellow, and then got mushy. I felt so bad! Of course I hadn't exactly been good to him. I had never washed out his pot in two years, and sometimes I forgot to water him. When I did water him, I gave him tap water, full of fluoride and, in our particular building, iron. But the worst was that in his early days, he had a couple of small stalks just peeking through the surface, that soon died and rotted away and I was afraid to disturb him to take them out. So really, it was a miracle he stayed healthy as long as he did!
I put it off, and put it off, hoping he would just pull through. But before long it became obvious - Bob was dying. I was going to have to make cuttings and hope for the best. I read everything I could on how to re-root lucky bamboo. Then it was time for surgery. I felt awful. Even the stalks I had thought were healthy had begun to yellow and rot out underneath the surface. His main stalk was yellow well into the curlicue. And it STANK! I saved everything that was still green, which wasn't much after all. I was so afraid I was going to kill him! But I kept reminding myself, if I didn't do this, he was going to die for sure, so even if I couldn't save him I was giving him his best chance. I washed his pot and his rocks, and even his red twist ties, and stored them away for safekeeping.
I put what was left of Bob in a clear drinking glass with an inch or so of distilled water in the bottom. Here he is in his recovery room:
And then I had to wait for, I was told, two to six weeks, to see if he would put out roots and survive or if he was well and truly dead.
So I waited. A few of the stalks started turning yellow. I cut the healthy leaf stems off of them and hoped they would take.
And I waited. The biggest, greenest stalk started turning brown on the cut end. I hoped this was a good sign.
I waited. I changed the water once a week and rinsed the stalks. I scrutinized him almost every day through the glass, asking, is that a root? Is that one? Not sure what to look for.
And I waited.
And then one day, after having skipped his inspection once or twice, I checked him out again, and behold!
Bob has rooted! He lives!! He is a shadow of his former self, but he lives! The first day I saw them, there were two stalks that had put out roots. Yesterday I spotted roots on a 3rd stalk. And today the 4th is showing tiny little nubs. #5 can't be far behind!
I love his little green pot and the nice Eastern look it gives to my desk, but I may decide to get him a clear pot instead so I can better see how much water he has and whether it needs changing - and whether anything is starting to go wrong. I may also find him an heir to fill out my desk again, as even Bob will tell you he's not what he once was. And I solemnly swear to give Bob and his future heirs only distilled water, and to drain the water, wash the pots and rocks and rinse the stalks every week or two.
Go, Bob, go!
