14/08/2026
Save this one for later.
A lot of people meet tissue culture at Stage 2, the jar full of shoots. That's the part everyone photographs. It's also the part that fails when the stages on either side of it get rushed.
A few things worth knowing:
Stage 0 does more work than it gets credit for. Most contamination rides in on the mother plant rather than starting in your hood. Stock that's been grown clean, kept dry, and actively growing for a few weeks before you cut will give you a much easier time at initiation.
Stage 1 is not measured in growth. If your explant is alive and clean after two weeks, that stage did its job. Save your expectations for multiplication.
Stage 4 is where good work gets lost. Plantlets raised in a sealed vessel at near saturation develop thin cuticles and stomata that are slow to close, so they can't hold water yet. Put them straight into room air and a perfect batch can dehydrate in an afternoon. Bring the humidity down over days.
Five stages, five different jobs. Skip one and you usually pay for it two stages later.
Which stage has cost you the most cultures? 👇
