Roots without a plant?
I repotted a rescue Phal about a month ago, and had to cut off one piece of root that was so tightly stuck in the pot that I could not remove it. I tossed it and the old potting moss onto a compost heap. Yesterday I happened to be out by said compost heap and noticed the moss was green (not a good sign in Tucson, as that means we had a leak in our irrigation system! ), and the hunk of root was still green. I've spent weeks whispering to my phalaenopsis "Come on, you can do it. Grow a little root for Mama!" Now I have a root with no plant attached that is still green after spending a month on a compost heap.
So I wondered if orchids can reproduce from bits of root that may get stuck in branches...like the plants we mostly don't want to reproduce easily (dandelions, mistletoe, Spanish moss.) How/why can the root stay plump and green without a plant attached?
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