plants seem to know which way is up and which way is down; besides, they seem to know right from left. if a cutting from a tree is kept alive, new shoots will grow from the end that grew in the highest part of the tree.
there is no noticeable difference between the top and the bottom of the living stick, even under a microscope. even so, the stick will not send out shoots from the end it regards as bottom even if this end happens to be on top!
scientists studying this subject further split their cuttings in the direction of length.
to their surprise, they made another new discovery. a good many more buds grew on the righthand side of the split surface than on the left. they split the sticks again and found that the buds again grew on the right side.
the results of the entire study showed a 60% choice for the right side, proving that growing plants are mostly "righthanded.”