So excited to see a new spike emerging!

  • skip0110@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Awesome! How can you tell if it is a flower spike or a new root? I can’t tell the difference – it seems like it could decide to be either until it’s about an inch long and I can see if it is heading up or down.

    • sean@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      Here is a picture from today showing the current state of the spike, along with an emerging root!

    • sean@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      Great question! I know for sure because the picture is from a couple of weeks ago and by now it’s clearly a flower spike.

      I had your same question when the growth was at the stage shown in the picture. I looked up how to tell the difference between flower spike and root. What I learned was that two signs of flower spike are:

      • Located right below the middle of where a leaf attaches to the stem, because that’s the location of a node that can become a flower spike. Roots can come from a greater variety of locations around the stem.
      • Shaped like a mitten, in other words the growth is slightly asymmetric. I believe the thumb is a forming node and the fingers part is where the spike will continue growing. The mitten shape is not present in this image, it developed a day or two later. In contrast, a developing root is fully symmetric/round.

      There may be other signs too or these may be incorrect, please share if you know them!

      • skip0110@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Thank you! I have only seen 3 flower spikes so far (1 a year for 3 yrs) so this will be helpful next time one appears. Ours so far has started what ended up being flower spikes each time in Jan/Feb so around that time we get very excited on any growth :)

        • sean@lemm.eeOP
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          1 year ago

          I know what you mean! To be honest I get pretty excited about new roots too haha, all new growth is exciting