What is the difference between orchid root and peduncle
Orchid is a capricious flower, therefore it requires careful care and attention from its owner. Sometimes it takes a long time to wait for an orchid to bloom. In addition, the emerging peduncle is easy to confuse with the root - the difference between the root of an orchid and a peduncle is difficult to see for those who have just begun to get acquainted with this plant.
What is the difference between orchid root and peduncle
Why distinguish between orchid root and peduncle
It is important to learn how to correctly determine what kind of sprouts appear on the plant. This can be a signal that he needs more careful care.
The orchid during the flowering period requires special care and requires special attention. From time to time, it needs to be fed with fertilizers and the irrigation schedule should be changed.
There are times when the plant should not be allowed to bloom. For example, if it hurt for a long time (roots began to rot) or recently underwent a transplant, and the adaptation period was difficult. In such cases, the best way out is to cut the stem of the peduncle, thereby preventing the plant from blooming. This will help the orchid conserve energy and use it to grow. Blooming requires a lot of energy from the flower.
Differences between root and peduncle
A peduncle is a long shoot on which orchid buds form. It grows both straight and taking bizarre shapes, for example, a spiral shape. It is distinguished from the root by a number of features.
Peduncle:
- sprouts at the base of a new leaf;
- has a sharp tip and stepped base;
- resembles a flat cone in shape;
- grows up, less often - to the side;
- if not tied up in time, it will begin to sink down under the weight of flowers.
The structure of the orchid is not complicated
Root:
- germinates outside or anywhere on the neck of the plant, even from the center of the leaf;
- has a bright brownish tip and a light base;
- smooth, without scales and primordia;
- able to grow in any direction, but most often it tends to go down.
Differences between a peduncle and an embryo
In addition to the roots and peduncles, the embryos of new flowers, or, as they are also called, "babies", are formed in orchids. They mainly appear on the peduncle, but there are times when they grow near the root of the plant. In this case, the embryo is just as easy to confuse with a peduncle.
At the beginning of development, babies have the same shape, a similar stepped stem structure and do not even differ in color. Some signs help to understand that a fetus has appeared:
- the sprout has no point of growth;
- a leaf appears instead of an arrow;
- the plant is more than 5 years old.
If you look closely at the process, in addition to the similarity, you can also see some differences between the peduncle and the baby. The shoots look the same only at the very beginning, as the peduncle grows, it stretches and grows upward, and the baby takes the form of a droplet with a characteristic depression in the middle of the shoot.
As it grows, the peduncle retains the stepped structure of the stem, while in the embryo the scales are much smaller and do not develop during growth; after 10-12 days, the peduncle becomes longer, and the embryo releases 1 or 2 leaves.
It will not be difficult to distinguish the root of a flower from a peduncle if you know the characteristic features of each of the elements presented.
Summarizing
An orchid is a tropical flower, so adaptation to unfamiliar conditions is not easy. If sprouts appear on the plant, it doesn't matter if it's roots or a peduncle: this means that the plant is full of strength and has fully adapted to its new place of residence.
If you treat the plant with love and care, carefully monitor its development and take care of it in time, it will delight the owner's eye with a magnificent beautiful flowering and an unusual aroma for a long time.