diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Renderer/Elements.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Renderer/Elements.js
index db9feed132..109e2f4728 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Renderer/Elements.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Renderer/Elements.js
@@ -585,7 +585,7 @@ OpenLayers.Renderer.Elements = OpenLayers.Class(OpenLayers.Renderer, {
         } else {
             // if there's no indexer, simply append the node to root,
             // but only if the node is a new one
-            if (node.parentNode !== this.root){ 
+            if (node.parentNode !== this.vectorRoot){ 
                 this.vectorRoot.appendChild(node);
             }
         }