In 2024, we enter the Year of the Dragon

Eight lucky plants

Article for :All parent plants

The Lunar New Year is the occasion to offer lucky plants. While the French place all their hopes in the four-leaf clover, Asians have a much wider choice. If you're looking for prosperity, luck and, why not, love, glory and beauty, here are eight varieties you need to adopt urgently.

#1 Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiiana)

Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiiana), a classic New Year's lucky charm (Photo by Joel/ flickr)

Native to Cameroon, Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiiana) is the most popular Chinese New Year good-luck plant. It can be found everywhere: at flower markets, florists, supermarkets and in many different forms: as a branch, pyramid, tower, braid..

If you want to give a lucky bamboo as a gift, select it with care. Its powers depend on the number of stems. Three bring happiness, five health, seven wealth and eight prosperity.

With Dracaena sanderiiana, success is within everyone's reach. Easy to care for, it needs only a semi-shady spot and watering every 20 days.

#2 Pachira aquatica

The more trunks your pachira has, the better off you'll be (Photo by He JiaWei /flickr)

With their five leaflets, the palmate leaves of the Pachira aquatica resemble hands. The shrub is said to use them to catch happiness and prosperity (yes, apparently, you can catch them like a pom-pom at the funfair). But that's not all: touching the bulging trunk of a money tree would be an additional token of good fortune.

If you're going through a very bad patch, increase the effectiveness of your Pachira aquatica by opting for a tree with five braided trunks. The number 5, representing the five elements, is an additional good omen.

We don't know whether killing a Money tree brings the evil eye. To be on the safe side, place your lucky plant in a sunny spot and follow the watering instructions on the Monstera app.

#3 The Chinese coin plant (Pilea peperomioides)

UFO or euro? It's all a question of point of view (Photo by Spurekar / flickr)

When I look at my Pilea peperomioides, its round leaves remind me of little flying saucers ready to land. Others see coins. I haven't had any encounters of the third kind yet. But I have to admit that my finances haven't been any worse since a Chinese coin plant took pride of place in my living room.

To be sure of becoming a millionaire, re-pack your specimen after purchase. To give it more space, but above all to slip a coin into its potting soil. It's said that this is the prerequisite for money to come knocking at your door.

Your plant may not make you rich, but it may make you popular. Pilea is easy to cut. With its graphic look, it's a popular gift for plant-addicts and novice gardeners alike.

#4 Jade tree (Crassula ovata)

Crassula ovata, the promise of a long and prosperous life (Photo by Chiara Coetzee / flickr)

What's the point of being rich if you don't live long enough to enjoy it? To avoid suffering the tragic fate of Gregory Jarvis, who drowned with his winning lottery ticket in his pocket, get yourself a Jade tree Tree.

Nicknamed the Jade Tree because of its stone-green foliage, this succulent symbolizes both prosperity and longevity. Indeed, with the right care, this lucky plant can live for several decades and reach heights of up to two meters.

To ensure that your shrub flourishes, water it generously when the substrate is dry. Don't forget to fertilize during the summer months.

#5 Citrus, Citrus japonica and calamondin

Like fir trees, Citrus can be adorned with all kinds of decorations (Photo by Kwin / flickr)

Is your bank account in a bad way? Buy a kumquat! In Cantonese and Mandarin, its name combines the words gold and luck.

What's more, in Chinese culture, the color orange is associated with prosperity. The small, round, golden fruits of Citrus japonica are supposed to bring you wealth.

No garden or terrace for your kumquat? Adopt a calamondin (citrus microcarpa). This citrus tolerates life indoors. Like its cousin, it produces small orange fruits, symbols of prosperity. And its name also sounds like luck and fortune.

#6 Butterfly orchid (Phalaenopsis)

In the absence of fir or citrus trees, some people hang their ornaments on their orchids (Photo by Mike/ flickr)

Synonymous with luxury and refinement, phalaenopsis also embody abundance, fertility and innocence. In the run-up to the New Year, it's a gift reserved for loved ones.

Each color has its own meaning. A yellow orchid guarantees success at work, a white one symbolizes friendship and a red one, love.

Orchids can sometimes behave like divas. But phalaenopsis hybrid is one of the simplest species to grow. An epiphyte, it requires good hygrometry and regular fertilization to flower again.

#7 Sacred Chinese lilies ( Narcissus tazetta chinensis )

Chinese sacred lilies, another must-have (Photo by Zhu Fok Gam / flickr)

Sold in bouquets or in pots as the New Year approaches, Chinese sacred lilies are a variety of narcissus (Narcissus tazetta chinensis). With their star-shaped white petals and yellow hearts, these flowers ensure good luck and prosperity for the whole family.

To benefit from the sacred lily's protection, you'll need to think ahead. The plant is not very common on European florists' shelves in winter. However, bulbs are almost always available in garden centers. Plant yours between September and November for flowering, at best, in February.

#8 The ZZ plant ( Zamioculcas zamiifolia )

Little leaves that stand up to anything (Photo by Rego Korosi / flickr)

We could have ended this list with willow catkins, gladioli, peonies or cherry blossoms. But we decided to stop at 8 (a highly lucky number in China) and finish with Zamioculcas zamiifolia.

Less traditional than lucky bamboo or Pachira, plant ZZ is nonetheless a sure bet if you're looking for a lucky plant to protect your home. It is said to bring luck and opulence to those who grow it.

Able to thrive lurking in the shadows and survive forgotten watering, Zamioculcas represents resistance to life's trials and stability.

By Servane Nemetz
on 18-01-2024 at 12h31