tisuue culure vs pots?

[Jacob Hill-Legion Aquatics]

what's the difference tisuue culure vs pots what will the average person have more success with? what are the pros and cons of both?

Edited October 5, 2022 by Jacob Hill-Legion Aquatics

[lefty o]

i have never had a problem with either. tissue culture plants tend to be on the smaller side starting out vs potted. the 1 real big difference is you wont get snails with a tissue culture plant.

[AnimalNerd98]

I think the “average” person will probably have more success with a potted plant. Although many potted plants are grown emersed like tissue cultured plants, you can still have some time for conversion with immersed growth at the store (granted that you aren’t buying them the day that they get shipped in). If you buy them from the Co-Op, they do a lot of the converting for you so they’re ready to rock and roll when they hit your tank. For tissue cultures, you have to do the conversion yourself. 

If I have a carpeting plant like microsword or Dwarf Sag, I find it much easier to plant the pot into the substrate itself and letting it propagate out of the pot. For tissue cultured plants, they are a lot smaller and sometimes their root systems are not very developed yet, so it’s a hassle trying to plant them. 

Like @lefty o said, there is no chance for snails or similar pests from getting in with a tissue cultured plant but there is a method of “treating” potted plants to achieve similar results. Look up Reverse Respiration on the forum. 

Lastly, price. Potted plants usually give you more bang for your back, or more plant for less money. Tissue cultures are small and can be relatively expensive for what you get. The price is coming down for a lot of tissue cultures though, especially when sold by big companies like PetCo. I recently got 10 Crypt Pink Flamingo at a PetCo for about 24 bucks.