Only if the soil is a good one (coarse textured and fast draining)and if the container has proper drainage holes. The techniques of proper watering must be applied, of course. If all of the dracaena's needs are met, it will do much, much better in solid planting medium than in plain water.

I will second that. I finally planted one in soil and it lived. I tried three times with water only and they slowly died.

Yes, it will grow better in soil. However, it's normal growth pattern does not resemble the stripped stunted plants sold as "Lucky Bamboo"

a couple months ago i replanted my bamboo from water and rocks to soil. It seems to be doing fine but Im not sure if its getting enough water. Im just not sure how to tell. some of the tips are crunchy and brown not sure but i think thats from the people i had plant sitting while i was out of state.there is some new growth. please help me figure this out.

I have found that a good pot to use for LB is called a 'Plant Spa'. It has an opening at the bottom of the pot and that's how you water. It allows your plant to take water as needed without keeping the roots soggy. I use a spray bottle to evenly dampen the soil as it drains to the bottom. The Plant Spa takes the guessing out of watering! You should be able to find the Plant Spa at any local WalMart or Ace Hardware with a garden center. My LB loves this system. I have had my LB for about a month now and it has already grown a good 2 1/2 inches!! :)

I bought a stalk last year at the flea market and immediately planted it in a large pot with 4 other small draceanas. It did fine...grew about a foot.

A couple months ago I read a recipe for houseplant fertilizer. Mix 1 12oz can of beer, 1/2 c. ammonia, 1 c. epsom salt, and 2 c. of water. Add 1/2 to 1 tsp. per 1 gallon water every 2 weeks. I started using it for watering and in a misting bottle.

My LB has a branch sprouting from just beneath the soil and the gold dust draceana also in the pot is sprouting branches from the main stems, sending up a couple of stalks from the ground, and even attempted to bloom (my behemoth of a dog knocked the bud off with his tail).
The other draceanas (Janet Craig, Janet Craig Compacta, and tricolor) are all putting on nice new growth.

Wow! how tall is the gold dust when it blooms? Also, I have some LB growing in water in a lizard cage. It is perfectly healthy.

I have had one stalk in soil for almost three years and it is doing very well, actually better than the bamboo I have in water. It does grow a bit differently than the lucky bamboo in water. I added stones around the base of the stalk, and the plant is a lot happier since as it raises the humidity level.

I've grown L.B. both ways too. The plant took off in soil. Producing new growth constantly, lush and tall

The brown (necrotic) tips may be from your water. [Chlorine, Chloride, Flourine, Flouride]
Distilled or reverse osmosis water will cure the brown tips. It did for mine.

Another cause of tip necrosis is fertilizer burn. I've noticed that L.B. prefer nutrient poor soil, light infrequent feeding. I use 1/4 strength Cactus fertilizer. Lowest NPK I can find.
Meg

I thought I would pop up this message string since we have some questions about this!

Has anyone tried the aqua globes as a water source for LB grown in soil?

I have not used the Aqua Globes with anything so I am not aware of how well they work. They are an attractive solution though. They are much prettier than some other watering systems.

If you try it, please let us know how you do!

I am pushing this message string up for someone asking about planting lucky bamboo in soil.

My lucky bamboo was in water for a year and slowly turning yellow at the top, so I planted them in soil but still the yellowing is continuing. I keep trimming the yellow bits away and they are getting shorter and shorter. What am I doing wrong? Or more appropriately, what else more could I be doing wrong?

I just bought 4 stalks planted in a kind of jell medium. I think that is for humidity....
No instructions with it and so I guess I'll just add water periodically and no soil???

Lucky bamboo will grow faster in soil.......I just transferred 45 lucky bamboo from water to soil.....there growing much faster......I have some that are 5 feet tall......they love the soil, I feed them with Miracle gro once a month......and use distilled water when I water them.......Good luck...........

Can anyone tell me what's the best soil for lucky bamboo?

Re: best soil for lucky bamboo (which isn't bamboo, its a relative of the corn plant, BTW, called Dracaena sanderiana) Sanderiana is a tough little customer, and will grow in almost anything, as seen from the different experiences related in this and other threads. I would say that the best soil would be something light and well drained. You could use a packaged cactus soil, and mix it with perlite - up to 1/2 and 1/2. Or if you want to get fancier, you could also use Al's Gritty Mix http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1378017/what-is-this-als-gritty-mix

I would always recommend against using any thing advertising "moisture retentive," or "moisture management." These are commercial mixes designed to hold water, and frequently this leads to rot and other problems in potted plants. Although I've seen that some people have grown "LB" very happily in this - like I said, the little suckers seem to grow in just about anything.