FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Matt wrote:

EmilysEcoBubbles wrote:do Venus flytrap multiply a lot in tc

Yes, even on hormone-free media. Other species require hormones to multiply.

Oh cool

Having gone through it, I can tell you TC is neither easy nor cheap to get started in. It is a fun project if you're interested in science, but if you just want to multiply your plants, it's 1000 times easier & cheaper to just take leaf pullings and put them in sphagnum moss. TC is best for rapidly multiplying a plant so if you have a cultivar that you want hundreds-thousands of, then TC is a more practical option.

I'd strongly recommend leaf pullings for now rather than rushing into TC and while you wait for them to strike, learn more about how to do TC and figure out everything you're going to need up front. I feel like I got into it pretty cheap but for jars, lids, a hood, a table, media, gloves, sanitation supplies, pressure cooker, PPM, etc. it was between $200-300. Even with PPM in my media I have only so far successfully sterilized seeds, but no live tissue. I've either killed the explant or had contamination. Going to keep trying when I get the chance.

If you do it, make sure you get a pressure cooker with at least 15 psi. The cheaper ones I think are frequently 8-12. Be prepared for a lot of practice & experimentation before you get it down. This will mean throwing away media and explants from failed attempts. And lastly, phytotechlabs has a premade VFT media (I think optionally including the agar). It's a lot more expensive than making your own, but it might be easier.

P.S. Given a deep enough pot, a healthy VFT can split off into many divisions in a single season. I think I've had one split into 5, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear of many more than that even. Some VFTs like to divide more than others but most do at some point. Natural multiplication can give you more plants than you need ... in 3 years you could have 1 become 3, 3 become 9, 9 become 21. Just something to keep in mind to plan for, especially if you're popping out 10s, 20s, or 100s from TC...gotta have somewhere for them all to go.

EmilysEcoBubbles wrote:when it said miracid, what brand should I look for? And the inositol and vitamin tablets... Needing a little clarification on those... But the guide is good thx

I don't know if is good ones, I got this ones, Miracid = brand 'Miracle Grow Miracid', Amazon. Inositol = brand 'Redwells', ebay. Thiamine = brand 'St Georges Medical', ebay.

Emily, you probably will wish to sign up with the Yahoo group Home Tissue Culture. The founder of the group travels from city to city giving DIY short courses to those interested in TC as a hobby. Somewhere in the site archives, you will find Carol's instructions for sterilizing media using a microwave.