FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

i also know how to do it. have done it many times. but as the most says nobody want to share his secrets and i cant share it too

Matt wrote:It's exactly the same way that plants divide naturally when you grow them in dirt except you give them nutrients and hormones to make it happen more often.

Awesome! I thought about using hormones, but I wasn't sure which ones were safe to use for VFT and pitcher plants, because some seem to just be fertilizer nutrients marketed as growth hormone. Can you recommend me any brands? =?

nepaholic wrote:i also know how to do it. have done it many times. but as the most says nobody want to share his secrets and i cant share it too

What? That's mean!

Yes growing sarracenia in tc from seed would be easier but then if I take seed from a self pollinated adrian slack it is not an adrian slack, so cloning the plant it self is the key but as advised just above it can be done

bugman wrote:Well I hope others will add to this thread as it is about time we learnt how to do this

I agree. I've found virtually no university research regarding micropropagation from the tissue. I've tried flower stalks with no success but will try more. It basically turned into a fungus ball. I'm currently micropropagating from seed. Are there endosymbionts (fungus or bacteria) that make it extremely difficult to sterilize the tissue? Seems like I heard or read that somewhere. Next, I would like to try the apical meristem right when it first emerges and is tiny. I've also thought of possibly stripping and taking some sort of rhizome core? I'm sure it would be impossible to sterilize the rhizome but maybe if you take a plug of it from the center???? just brainstorming.

bugman wrote:Has anyone or does anyone propagate sarracenia rhizome or off shoots in tissue culture? I am not I interested in seed, I would like advise or if here is a link to some further info that would be great.

Regarding the sterilization of Sarracenia tissue and problem with endosymbiotic fungus. The below paragraphs can be found on the ICPS carnivorous plant FAQs website http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq6010i.html, specifically,

"Next, the plant sample must be prepared. This is where the realm of strict science leaves, and is replaced by skill, art, and luck. The plant specimen, usually a chunk of tissue no more than a cm or so on a side, is selected. For some species, such as diminutive Drosera, you will clearly be working with much smaller specimens! The origin of the plant material depends upon the species, and you will have to talk with other practitioners for ideas. For example, in Sarracenia, the important tissue for your work appears to the be cells at the apical meristem of the rhizome (i.e. the growth bud). Unfortunately, Sarracenia grow relatively slowly, so harmless fungi that grow inside the plant tissue of Sarracenia are often transported into the tissue culture environment, and can spoil the culture.

The chunk of tissue is sterilized on the surface by rinsing it in 70% ethanol, then washing it with a solution of 0.5-4% bleach (NaOCl, sodium hypochlorite), or something similar such as CaOCl (calcium hypochlorite). A 0.1-1% addition of Tween 20 (polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate) is added to the bleach solution. This adjuvant functions as a surfactant, or wetting agent, to enhance the ability of the bleach to penetrate cracks in the plant sample to more fully sterilize the sample. The plant specimen is then rinsed with sterilized water to remove the toxic bleach, and your specimen is ready. Experienced tissue culture practitioners have reported that particularly difficult plants such as Sarracenia do not respond to this simple treatment well because of the fungus growing in the tissues. For these plants, the tissue sample must in essence be peeled--a layer should be stripped away from all the surfaces of the specimen--and then the entire sterilization process should be repeated. This should be done a number of times, and even after such repeat treatments, the final product may still be infected with fungus. Often, the plant tissue is killed by the process. Tissue culture is not always easy!

The sterilized specimen is transferred to the jar with medium, and covered with a lid. The lid is sealed with a waxy tape called parafilm, while others simply use conventional transparent tape. Tape helps keep the culture sterile, and also reduces the loss of water. If the water is successfully maintained in the jar, you will not have to disturb the specimen for many months, and the plant cells will have an opportunity to grow."

I'm very interested in this topic as well.

I swear I might make this my new mission. It can be done and I have a few rhizomes I can play around with.

Has anyone made any progress with sarrs explants?

I swear I might make this my new mission. It can be done and I have a few rhizomes I can play around with.

Has anyone made any progress with sarrs explants?

any update on this thread?