Hey t-bred,
Couldn't you seperate the keiki? Or perhaps you could put a piece of cardboard/plastic in front of the root so that it doesn't bore into the mom plant!

Hey Calvin, both mother and child are in spike.I don't want to do any major surgery right now.Wish I could fit a piece of cardboard between,would be hard pressed to put a piece of notebook paper between!!!!I wanted to try to keep these two together for the effect but I guess not in the long term.The keikis roots are at least 5" long, well settled into the bark. I guess there could be worse things than snipping it off?

t-bred I have a basal keiki that did the same thing. The root didn't grow into the main plant but ended up growing straight up into the air. I wouldn't disturb the plants nor cut the root. The root will still provide nutrients to the plant and eventually if not enough moisture in the air, just dry up. Creating an open wound on a healthy plant could give some opportunistic bacteria an open invitation to come visit.

This is just another oddity :>) enjoy!

Brooke

Yes but if you are worried the root will cause a larger open wound or kill the mother plant snip it and sprinkle cinnamon on it and keep an eye on it.