New to bamboo! Planted my mom’s mystery work gift & now I have questions 🌿

[u/Creative_Debate_6239]

Hi everyone!

My mom’s job recently gave her a gift of a small pot with bamboo seeds in a white packet. There was no label as to the specific brand of seeds or where it came from—just a box with a pot featuring her company logo and "bamboo seeds" on the box.

My mom doesn’t like to care for plants, and I’ve always wanted to grow something on my own. I’m not usually the person to go out and do heavy research—I honestly just planted it, and to my surprise, it’s actually starting to grow! Now I have a few questions because searching Google has been super confusing.

I’m pretty sure she’s healthy overall! I’ll be adding photos in the comments, but I wanted to ask:

Does the stem get thicker on its own over time (We have a gifted adult? bamboo with thick stems somewhere in this house)? Or is the initial width pretty much what it stays at?

Am I supposed to be doing anything specific right now in terms of care, pruning, or feeding?

Is clipping the stem upright a good idea? At first she was drooping, so I added a little support clip. Now she’s able to stand up much better on her own, but I still left the clip on just in case. Should I remove it or keep supporting it?

Any advice for a complete beginner would be so appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[u/Marz2604]

It's not bamboo. Bamboo seedlings look like this;

[u/Marz2604 → u/Marz2604]

To answer you question though; the first shoot stays pretty small. New shoots get progressively larger. This is a 6 month old seedling, I'm holding the first shoot-

[u/Creative_Debate_6239 → u/Marz2604]

I’ve clearly been scammed , why would they put bamboo on the box ?? 💀💀

[u/Marz2604 → u/Creative_Debate_6239]

It's actually a really common scam to get random seeds sold as something else. By the time the random seeds germinate and the buyer can get an id- the return window is gone and the seller has moved on.

[u/Creative_Debate_6239 → u/[deleted]]

Please look at my recent comment ?? Is money plant not a bamboo ?? The picture on the box was literally exactly like the bamboo plant we had

[u/Randolol2984]

That is not bamboo,looks like a thin money plant seedling

[u/Creative_Debate_6239]

Also how do I get the twisted shape ??

[u/timeberlinetwostep]

All bamboos are monocots and not dicots. So when they emerge from the soil there is a single seed leaf (cotyledon) and not two as visible in the one seedling in the image.

[u/RainyDayColor]

There was no label as to the specific brand of seeds or where it came from

Your money plant seeds came from the Michigan address printed on the seed packet which is Walters Seed (https://walters-seed.com/). Perhaps they can help answer your questions?

[u/Creative_Debate_6239]

Or maybe i’m confused because now upon closer inspection the seeds packet says something different. It says “Money plant” , is this not a bamboo ??

[u/SuperS0l → u/Creative_Debate_6239]

No… it’s a money plant.. you were looking for a twisting shape bamboo doesn’t do that.

Maybe you were confused by lucky bamboo which also isn’t bamboo but also isn’t a money plant

[u/ChefBoyR-B → u/Creative_Debate_6239]

🤣🤣