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Artificial bamboo or real lucky bamboo for the room

Updated: October 2026

The corner is dark, or the cat chews anything green, and you are choosing an artificial bamboo or a real lucky bamboo for the same floor space. Real, in this amazon.co.uk set, means Dracaena sanderiana in a vase or a small pot. Artificial means a polyester or plastic plant that never roots. The [bamboo plant comparison](/hub/hedges-and-privacy-screens/bamboo-plant) lists both. This page is the condition. The model comes after. Prices are shelf prices from the saved listings on 20 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Live packs in the table run from about £9.99 to about £19.99. Faux starts at about £23.89 for a plant about 40.6 cm, and the useful floor height is Amazon Basics at about £27.03 for 100 cm. Cheaper is not the same as suitable.

The corner is dark, or the cat chews anything green, and you are choosing an artificial bamboo or a real lucky bamboo for the same floor space.

Our top picks

Amazon Basics Amazon Basics artificial bamboo, 100 cm

Best overall

Amazon Basics Amazon Basics artificial bamboo, 100 cm
9.1/10about £27.03
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Carbeth Plants Carbeth lucky bamboo, 3 straight stems

Best value

Carbeth Plants Carbeth lucky bamboo, 3 straight stems
8.0/10about £15.99
View offer
Easy Plants Easy Plants lucky bamboo in a glass vase

Alternative

Easy Plants Easy Plants lucky bamboo in a glass vase
6.8/10about £13.49
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.When the live stem is the right object
  2. 2.When the faux plant is the right object
  3. 3.Pets
  4. 4.Outside
  5. 5.Then pick a model

When the live stem is the right object

Choose the live stem when someone will actually keep it. BBC Gardeners' World wants bright indirect light, about 5 cm of water, and a weekly change. IKEA UK says change the water every second week and keep the plant at or above 15°C. You need a person who will empty the glass. Carbeth's three straight stems at about £15.99 are canes without a display pot. Easy Plants' glass arrangement at about £13.49 includes the vase and pebbles, at about 20–30 cm including the glass. That is a desk, a shelf, or a bright bathroom with a window. IKEA UK allows a bathroom only when the window is bright, and still out of direct sun. Skip the live stem if the corner never gets that indirect daylight, if nobody will change the water, or if a pet can chew it. The listings ask about pets and do not answer. A cutting at about £10 that yellows in a dark hall has not saved you the about £27 faux.

When the faux plant is the right object

Choose the faux when the room cannot support a dracaena. Amazon Basics reviewers describe real plants that had failed in a dark corner, replaced by this 100 cm artificial bamboo. The bullets say indoor use only and wipe clean. Height still has to match the sightline. The 365 pots are about 40.6 cm and disappear beside a sofa. Amazon Basics is 100 cm, Keeplush states 150 cm, and YOLEO states 180 cm with one review at about 160 cm and only 18 reviews. From the doorway, a metre of green reads as a plant. From 30 cm, wire stems and a plain pot read as a product. Both 365 colourways are about £23.89 and share one review pool of 4.6 from 823. If 40 cm is all the bookcase allows, the pot colour is the choice. If the problem is a bare hallway, start at 100 cm.
Amazon Basics Amazon Basics artificial bamboo, 100 cm

Testsieger

Amazon Basics Amazon Basics artificial bamboo, 100 cm
9.1/10about £27.03
View offer

Pets

Lucky bamboo is a dracaena. The PDSA says Cordyline and Dracaena can cause much more serious symptoms than a mild stomach upset, and Dracaena sits on the houseplant avoid list. The RHS says dracaenas are poisonous to cats and dogs. If a pet eats one, call a vet. A quiet amazon.co.uk FAQ that never answers the pet question is not a clearance. A plastic plant removes that toxin and is still not a chew toy. Keeplush's bullets say B0G492MYZS is safe for children and pets because it is plastic. That is a bullet, not a safety test, and the same limit applies to every faux in this table. If the cat already chews, choose the faux and put it where a paw cannot strip the leaves. Do not put lucky bamboo on the floor to see.

Outside

A room plant does not become a garden screen because the box says bamboo. Amazon Basics says indoor use only, and the page does not answer outdoor use with a yes. Keeplush's spec says indoor, and two reviews were unsure after trying one outside. YOLEO's recommended use says indoor, while one bullet names a porch, and 18 reviews are not a weather trial. The black 365 usage line says indoor and outdoor, while recommended use says indoor decoration, and the file has no UV test. Leave these faux plants in the house. Living cover is a clumping bamboo such as Fargesia, which is not an ASIN in this folder. The buying guide sends that job away from both the lucky bamboo and the faux.

Then pick a model

Take the live side only if you can give indirect light and suitable water, and keep a dracaena away from a chewing pet. In this set that points at a stem pack or a small vase, not at a 150 cm tree. Take the faux side if you will not change water or the corner is dark. In this set that points at about a metre before it points at a 40 cm pot or a thinly reviewed 180 cm tree. A star sort before this condition is how a full-sun spec and a shared review pool end up looking like an answer.

Common questions

I have almost no daylight. Which one?
The faux. Lucky bamboo needs bright indirect light, and BBC Gardeners' World says direct sun scorches it, which is the opposite problem from a windowless corner. A dark hallway will not keep a dracaena cutting green for long. Amazon Basics at 100 cm is the indoor height in this set that matches a corner you can see from the door. A 40 cm faux only works if the dark spot is a shelf.
My cat eats plants. Is lucky bamboo all right?
No. It is Dracaena sanderiana. The PDSA lists Dracaena among plants that can cause serious symptoms, and the RHS says dracaenas are poisonous to cats and dogs. The product pages ask and do not answer, which is not a yes. If the cat has already bitten a stem, phone a vet. Choose a faux for that room.
Is a plastic plant actually safe for pets?
It does not contain the dracaena toxin. That is the gain. It is not a veterinary certificate, and the PDSA does not test polyester foliage. Keeplush's safe-for-children-and-pets line is a bullet because the plant is plastic, not a lab result. Use the faux to avoid the poison, and place it where chewing is unlikely.
Can I put the faux one in the garden?
Not on the strength of these listings. Amazon Basics says indoor only. Keeplush's spec says indoor, and two outdoor reviews were unsure. The 365 indoor-and-outdoor line is contradicted by a recommended use of indoor decoration, with no weather test in the file. A patio screen needs a living clumper, not a 100 cm faux left out for winter.
The live one is cheaper. Why would I pay more?
You pay more when the cheap plant cannot live in the room. A dracaena at about £9.99 or about £15.99 still needs indirect light and water changes, and it is unsafe if a pet chews it. The Amazon Basics at about £27.03 is the cost of a 100 cm shape that stays green in the dark without that routine. If you have the light and the habit, the cheaper live stem is the better object.
Can lucky bamboo go in a bright bathroom?
Yes, if the window is bright and the leaves stay out of direct scorching sun. That is IKEA UK's condition, with the same water changes as any other room. A bathroom with no window is the faux case, taken from how Amazon Basics is used in dark corners, not from the IKEA live guide. Steam does not replace daylight for a dracaena.

Related pages

Best bamboo plant

Lucky bamboo care

Bamboo plant

Bamboo plant UK: desk, dark corner or garden hedge

Clumping or running bamboo before you plant a screen

Sources

Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts are from the eleven listings in this comparison, priced on 20 October 2026. Page updated October 2026.

  1. RHS, bamboo growing guide (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. RHS, bamboo control (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. RHS, how to grow dracaena (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. PDSA, poisonous plants (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, Part 8 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, high hedges: complaining to the council (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. BBC Gardeners' World, how to grow lucky bamboo (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Housing Ombudsman, Peabody Trust 202215374 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  9. Which?, how to grow bamboo (retrieved 21 October 2026)