Tissue cultured plants.

[Mark12345]

I hope someone can help, I've had a real hit and miss survival rate with tissue cultured plants. I'm planting them as I see in the online videos, but I seem to find that I still lose. around 50% of them, sometimes one or two will grow out of maybe ten pieces. I am injecting co2, and adding ferts, and my lights are on for 8 hours. Any advice would be appreciated, because I like the different plants you can get.
I'm guessing it's something I'm doing wrong, because if there's a wrong way to do something then I will find it.
Thanks

 

[Tim Harrison]

Can you give us more info please. Read this post first. But tissue culture can be a bit hit and miss.

Please read the guidelines for plant help!

Dear Member Please give as many details as possible regarding your aquarium set-up, when requiring advice/help! The above will be posted at the start of each help request. Why do we ask these questions? It will reduce the member posting multiple times, plus adviser's don't need to scroll...

www.ukaps.org

 

[seedoubleyou]

I hope someone can help, I've had a real hit and miss survival rate with tissue cultured plants. I'm planting them as I see in the online videos, but I seem to find that I still lose. around 50% of them, sometimes one or two will grow out of maybe ten pieces. I am injecting co2, and adding ferts, and my lights are on for 8 hours. Any advice would be appreciated, because I like the different plants you can get.
I'm guessing it's something I'm doing wrong, because if there's a wrong way to do something then I will find it.
Thanks

There are a few threads on here I’m sure, talking about the difficulties in planting tissue culture plants, they seem to struggle in the early stages.

 

[Tim1343]

I hope someone can help, I've had a real hit and miss survival rate with tissue cultured plants. I'm planting them as I see in the online videos, but I seem to find that I still lose. around 50% of them, sometimes one or two will grow out of maybe ten pieces. I am injecting co2, and adding ferts, and my lights are on for 8 hours. Any advice would be appreciated, because I like the different plants you can get.
I'm guessing it's something I'm doing wrong, because if there's a wrong way to do something then I will find it.
Thanks

I’m glad I’m not the only one! I thought they were literally the best way to plant but so many of mine just melt it’s quite disheartening. Also the pots, they’re so jammed in it’s like you’re shredding the plant to get anything physically plantable…

 

[Mark12345]

I’m glad I’m not the only one! I thought they were literally the best way to plant but so many of mine just melt it’s quite disheartening. Also the pots, they’re so jammed in it’s like you’re shredding the plant to get anything physically plantable…

I totally agree, when I watch the experts split them, they pull apart with simplicity, I feel I'm trying to untangle a mass of roots. I don't seem to have half the problems with potted and bunched plants, but I can't always find the varieties I want, yet the experts keep telling me there is a better chance with cultured plants, because the are grown submerged. That's why I love this forum, the people on here are giving there opinions without the shackles of sponsorship.
Thank you UKAPS

 

[ElleDee]

Can you list what you have had success with and what hasn't worked out? When you say one or two pieces will grow out of 10, do you mean 10-20% of a single cup/bag, or you have 10 different cultures and only 1 or 2 start growing?

Did the culture sit around before you planted? How did the plantlets look when you removed them from the culture? Did you have clear roots and shoots? Any evidence of hyperhydricity? Was the media clear, or was it brown or cloudy?

 

[Mark12345]

Can you list what you have had success with and what hasn't worked out? When you say one or two pieces will grow out of 10, do you mean 10-20% of a single cup/bag, or you have 10 different cultures and only 1 or 2 start growing?

Did the culture sit around before you planted? How did the plantlets look when you removed them from the culture? Did you have clear roots and shoots? Any evidence of hyperhydricity? Was the media clear, or was it brown or cloudy?

My success' have generally been crypts, annubias and bucephalandra although that's not 100%, I generally try to stick with easy or medium plants.
I planted hygropila lancea about a week ago, and there is nothing left just a mush at the bottom of my tank. The media was a cloudy colour when I planted it, but there have been occasions when the media has looked more like water. I plant the same day as I purchased. I didn't pay close enough attention to the roots and shoots to comment, but will in the future.

 

[G H Nelson]

Hi
This is not what you want to hear....as you would like to use the pots as soon as possible!
I find if I wash off the gel and leave them floating on the surface for a few weeks to establish new all-round growth I have more success!
hoggie

 

[Mark12345]

Hi
This is not what you want to hear....as you would like to use the pots as soon as possible!
I find if I wash off the gel and leave them floating on the surface for a few weeks to establish new all-round growth I have more success!
hoggie

Thanks I will definitely give this a go, I don't mind waiting because of the wider selection they offer.

 

[erwin123]

Guide to buying/planting aquatic plant tissue cultures

A guide to buying aquatic plant tissue cultures. This page will show you what to look out for when purchasing aquatic plant tissue cultures and how to transition them smoothly to your tank environment.

www.2hraquarist.com

I prefer not to buy tissue culture. Fortunately, in my country there are hobbyists that are willing to sell/trade their plants and I find that is a great way to get rare plants

 

[ElleDee]

This is more work, but you could always split the cup in half and plant half in your tank and grow the other half emersed. If the stuff in your tank succeeds then great, but if it fails you can try again when the emersed plants get big enough.

 

[erwin123]

converting TC to emersed first is a great idea. TC is a 100% guaranteed fail in my tank because I have Corydoras - any TC will be dug up within 24hours 🥲

 

[G H Nelson]

Hi
This is not what you want to hear....as you would like to use the pots as soon as possible!
I find if I wash off the gel and leave them floating on the surface for a few weeks to establish new all-round growth I have more success!
hoggie

Follow up!
I failed on numerous occasions with Crypt Flamingo & Nurii tissue culture.....I used the adaption method above.

 

[Andy Pierce]

Follow up!
I failed on numerous occasions with Crypt Flamingo & Nurii tissue culture.....I used the adaption method above.

I had good success with Crypt nurii from tissue culture, but it took about 5 weeks for the plants to start to really get going with emersed-form leaves. In the general case my strong preference is for emersed rockwool pots instead of in vitro tissue culture cups. My impression is the TC plants can be "confused" about whether they are emersed/submersed and sometimes about which direction is up vs. down. There seems to be a typical fragility of plants coming out of culture as well. I understand the appeal for the vendors but it's not great for the hobbyist. I also worry about lack of genetic diversity from huge swathes of cloned plants.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

....... In the general case my strong preference is for emersed rockwool pots instead of in vitro tissue culture cups. My impression is the TC plants can be "confused" about whether they are emersed/submersed and sometimes about which direction is up vs. down. There seems to be a typical fragility of plants coming out of culture as well. I understand the appeal for the vendors but it's not great for the hobbyist.

Same for me - <"What about In Vitro plants?"> & <"Invetro plant question">

Personally I would be reluctant to buy a tissue cultured plant without any roots. The company wants to sell their cultures at the youngest age possible, before they <"grow out of profit">, and maybe factoring in some further growth while the plants are waiting to be sold.

I also worry about lack of genetic diversity from huge swathes of cloned plants.

and that is another one, even if you ignore the cloned aspect, these are clones selected for <"their ease of growth emersed"> and ease of propagation, not for their long characteristics underwater - <"Tropica & Pets at Home">.

Personally I think we are well down the slippery slope now, and that all we can look forward to commercially is a continual contraction of the diversity of plants sold commercially.

cheers Darrel

 

[Cor]

I never have any failures in using InVitro plants. Never ever.
My way of working: I use aquasoil, a plantless cycle for 3 weeks and the failure rate is <5%.
Plants grow well, root quickly and are healthy. Maybe it has to do with your water parameters, soil or just bad InVitro quality?

 

[Bradders]

I have just got my first InVitro plants (which I think is Tissue Culture?) to try - but I am glad I found this thread!

I am VERY new to this, so have I stumbled into issue with InVitro / TC plants?!

 

[ElleDee]

I had good success with Crypt nurii from tissue culture, but it took about 5 weeks for the plants to start to really get going with emersed-form leaves. In the general case my strong preference is for emersed rockwool pots instead of in vitro tissue culture cups. My impression is the TC plants can be "confused" about whether they are emersed/submersed and sometimes about which direction is up vs. down. There seems to be a typical fragility of plants coming out of culture as well. I understand the appeal for the vendors but it's not great for the hobbyist. I also worry about lack of genetic diversity from huge swathes of cloned plants.

Yes, TC plants can be quite confused, and to me that's a quality issue. Finding the proper combination of plant growth regulators (plant hormones and their synthetic versions) that results in the most normal growth is a bit of an art. Sometimes even different clones of the same species benefit from slightly different protocols. It can take a lot of work to nail down and I've definitely seen stuff sold where, uh, let's say it looks the media optimization process is still ongoing. It's a shortcut that adds a layer of difficulty for the consumer for sure. And sometimes it goes a step further; I got a cup of crypt parva once where the plantlets were hyperhydric and extremely poorly differentiated and there's no way anyone could have gotten a normal plant out of that, period. It should have never been sold.

As for clones, most of the plants we grow are so easy to propagate vegetatively I suspect a big chunk are clonal anyway. And on the flip side, I'm very happy to see so much buce in culture so hopefully the incentive to wild collect is dampened.

and that is another one, even if you ignore the cloned aspect, these are clones selected for <"their ease of growth emersed"> and ease of propagation, not for their long characteristics underwater - <"Tropica & Pets at Home">.

Personally I think we are well down the slippery slope now, and that all we can look forward to commercially is a continual contraction of the diversity of plants sold commercially.

Choosing easy propagation over value in the tank is not inevitable, it's a choice. You can absolutely have both. My background is in plant breeding and I cannot emphasize how much the hobby would benefit from just a little bit of proper cultivar development. There's so much low hanging fruit... but it takes time and money to do.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

just bad InVitro quality?

I think that is at least some of the problem . A couple of times I've looked at the pots in "Pets @ Home" etc and they have been piled on top of one another in a stack, like tins of tuna.

cheers Darrel

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I got a cup of crypt parva once where the plantlets were hyperhydric and extremely poorly differentiated and there's no way anyone could have gotten a normal plant out of that, period. It should have never been sold.

Amazing how some words trigger you. <"Hyperhydritic">, that reminds me of my <"short lived career in Horticulture">, not only did I struggle <"with growing media">, I also had some, equally traumatic, project work with <"tissue cultured Roses">.........

cheers Darrel