Tissue Culture Workshop

Plants hold remarkable regenerative potential even when seeds aren’t available, and tissue culture is the science of unlocking it. In this two-day hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to initiate, propagate, and acclimatize plants entirely outside the soil, using the same laboratory techniques employed by botanical researchers, conservation programs, and specialty nurseries worldwide.

Across two focused sessions, you’ll gain a working understanding of the full tissue culture cycle: how to sterilize and prepare plant material, how to design and mix growth media, and how to transfer cultures from the lab vessel to the living world. By the end of the workshop, you’ll leave with your own plants in hand and the confidence to continue the process at home.

This workshop is designed for curious, motivated learners with no laboratory background required. It’s a great fit for:

• Home gardeners and plant collectors eager to propagate rare or favorite specimens
• Horticulture students looking for real-world lab experience
• Botanical enthusiasts interested in conservation and plant science
• Small-scale growers exploring new propagation methods

Tissue culture has long been the domain of university labs and commercial operations. This workshop brings that knowledge into an accessible, welcoming setting -- with expert instruction from Rebel Cultures, real materials, and take-home plants so the learning doesn’t stop when the session ends.

Info: Session overview: Tissue culture overview and uses lesson; Material collection from non-archival trees (e.g. ubiquitous young maples with ground-height branches); Instructor demo + hands-on plant initiation of collected material;
Q&A throughout;
Provided materials:
Microscope, branch clippers, beakers, stir plates, stir bars, chemical cleaning agents, gloves, paper plates, scalpels, forceps, tissue culture reference books, other misc. tools and materials.
Take home:
Tissue culture overview handouts;
Worksheets to fill out process step-by-step

Info: Session overview:
Tissue culture medium design and preparation lesson;
Practice micropropagation techniques using aseptic TC supplied by Rebel Cultures (simulate aseptic technique);
Transfer from in vitro tissue culture to ex vitro plugs with humidity dome;
After-care instruction for successful acclimatization;
Q&A throughout.
Provided materials:
Tissue culture plants and media vessels, scalpels, forceps, gloves, paper plates, plugs, trays, humidity domes, spray bottles, other misc. equipment and supplies.
Take home:
Small tray of tissue culture plants for acclimatization at home with spray bottle'
Worksheets to fill out step-by-step.

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Host or Publisher The Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park