I have 2 of those lucky bamboos, I've had them for 6-7 years. they don't grow rapidly, but have always stayed green, and I can't remember them ever dropping a leaf. I keep them both in tall glass, one is a lab beaker, the other an old milk bottle, in about 3 inches of water. including leaves, the taller of the two is almost 3 feet. it's longest leaves are about a foot. I used to use miracle grow on them, then tap water, and recently started using tank water to see if they liked it. They seem to.
The only maintenence I've ever done with these is pull them out to rinse out the root ball, because they are sitting in stagnant water all the time, and the roots do rot in there. (once every couple of months) But, there are many roots that are firm and have grown to 9 or 10 inches. I think half the rotting is due to the roots cracking and breaking when I pull it out of the neck of the bottle... they sometimes get compacted more than they like. I wonder if they had flowing current, or some soil, if they would not rot, but would get thicker and more sturdy.
It was my intention, before joining this forum and reading all about how they rot, to have a gravel area in a corner of the tank, that was relatively high, and plant a mangrove or one of these bamboo there... but I have been scared out of doing it...
