Death of the Bamboo

For the last four years or so I have owned and cared for three bamboo stalks. These three bamboo stalks have become special to me over the last few years because they were my first plant purchase that I could actually keep alive for longer than a couple weeks. I purchased the three stalks at one of my favorite stores, the Ikea in Costa Mesa, at the beginning of my Junior year of college (as best I can remember). They lived peacefully in my college apartment, then came with me home for the summer, then back to the college apartment, then made the drive AGAIN to Medford after graduation, then traveled with me to Vancouver when I lived with my grandparents, then moved to the Studio, then stayed with me through the vagabond period this summer, and most recently moved to the new place with me a month and a half ago. Phew - if you are still with me.... congratulations.

Mind you, the entire time the bamboo has been with me I have just made sure the water was full and everything looked okay.

Well, during my recent vagabond period (the month between the Studio and my new place) a friend of mine, whose parent is a botanist (or something similar to that), informed me that their botanist parent said the best thing to do for bamboo is cut the end off and be sure to change the water weekly. So I followed the advice.....

AND MY BAMBOO.....

changed from it's lovely green.....

TO AN UGLY BROWN.

The stalks shriveled up and died. Needless to say, I'm disappointed and probably never going to listen to a botanist again. Well, I might listen to a botanist again, it just might be a while.

I should have taken a picture of my shriveled, brown bamboo, but in all honesty, I was on another cleaning spree and just decided to throw them out before I convinced myself that I could somehow nurse them back to health. So today marks the end of an era, the end of my bamboo's life, and I am glad to have had my bamboo for the last four years. =)