Tissue Culture

Above: N. Clipeata in vitro, ready to be divided.

We often receive a lot of requests to tissue culture various carnivorous plant seeds in our lab. When done correctly, cloning can result in hundreds of plants per year! 

Typically we split fifty percent of the plants produced to help make up for time and lab expenses. If you would like to clone some carnivorous plant seeds please contact us!

Below is the list of plants we currently have en-vitro. 

 

Tissue Culture Process 

Sterilization

When seeds (or plant meristem) are created by crossing plants we begin the sterilization process. Some seeds are easy to sterilize, but plant meristem is a lot more difficult. 

Media preparation

Next, we prepare cloning media depending on the species. In many instances, media selection is often species specific. Generally highland nepenthes are more sensitive, whereas lowland nepenthes appreciate higher levels of micro-nutrients. The seeds will germinate and grow in this media for about 3-6 months. Slower species may take longer. We have found that the typical nighttime temperature drop for highland nepenthes is not required in tissue culture. 

Throughout this process we keep an eye out for fungus or bacteria contamination and apply fungicide or further sterilization treatment if necessary. 

 

Cloning

When the plants reach a certain size, they are re-plated into a medium with plant growth regulators (PGRs). In this media, each seedling will continue to divide. When the desired number of plants is reached, we will replate the plants into a media containing PGRs that encourage rooting. Once each clone has a decently sized rootball, the planted can be removed from tissue culture, potted in clean soil, and "hardened off" in a humidity dome.