Broken flower stem

[kechris]

The stem of my plant got injured and died. Now the plant if growing lots of shoots from the bottom. I don't think they are the going to grow flowers tho'. What are they and will my plant grow another stem that will produce orchids?

[sweetjblue]

kechris,
They could be either new spikes or the beginning of basal keikis.
Got pics?? Its really hard to let you know what you may have without them.

Judi

[kechris]

I've never done this before so I hope you get the pics.
Kec

[cbuchman]

Kec,
It looks like you're growing aerial roots. This is normal behavior. When a spike forms it looks like a little mitten at the end. Sometimes when they are just starting it's hard to tell the difference between a root and a spike.

[sweetjblue]

Ahh, Carrie beat me to it!

Judi

[kechris]

Thanks to you both!! kec

[sweetjblue]

kechris, Here's a pic showing the beginnings of a spike (circled in red) and to the left a new root just starting. They started at about the same time and as you can see it's hard to tell the difference.
The "mitten" becomes more pronounced as the spike grows and you already know what the roots end up looking like.
As you gain more experience it'll be easier to tell them part.
Hope that helps you some

Judi

[kechris]

Thank you Judi, this helps a lot!!