Pet store seedlings?

[greenhouseFrog]

Like the title implies…I saw a post on a different site where a user found these deflasked seedlings for sale as greenery for a reptile/amphibian enclosure. I doubt those plants are happy, but what a world!

Edited to add: From what I could glean from the original post, these actually have not been deflasked—they’re growing in agar media while they’re IN THE BAG!

[greenhouseFrog]

Got a pack of my own now—$10. They have them at Petco and Petsmart in the terrarium furnishing section, however I feel like these suffered in a retail setting! The cardboard is attached via a weak adhesive—the bag itself looks to be “vacuum” sealed.

[Waterdog111]

If they are still alive. You saved them!

[sunfire]

I got a package of these a couple years ago (my first attempt at deflasking seedlings). I planted them all individually and lost all but one. I've bought other flasks since and I think that if I had put them in a compot they would have fared better. The one left is pretty big now but has not flowered yet.

As long as you get a healthy bag it's a great deal for a first deflasking experience. I've purchased other tissue culture aquarium plants there and have had relatively good success. Just have to be careful because the packages can sit on the shelves for a while and get damaged which inevitably results in contamination etc. At one point I was looking for some specific aquarium plants and asked the staff when they usually got their shipments in and then stalked the store around that time. Lol

[greenhouseFrog]

Originally Posted by Waterdog111

If they are still alive. You saved them!

The ones in the original post definitely look iffy—ironically, I mentioned that the adhesive was weak in the post with the photo, but it was actually strong enough that I somehow managed to puncture the bag trying to remove the paper tag, so they’re more or less exposed to less-than-aseptic conditions…The puncture was nearest to the top of the bag and somehow the little air bubble where the plants are at the bottom had remained sealed in through what I assume is the surface tension of the moisture. While that may be the case, I’m afraid of letting it go too much longer in the event any contamination moves through that thin layer of moisture keeping things sucked together through surface tension. We shall see!

Here’s the fresher pack I got at a different location…Higher hopes for these



---------- Post added at 09:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:14 PM ----------

Originally Posted by sunfire

I got a package of these a couple years ago (my first attempt at deflasking seedlings). I planted them all individually and lost all but one. I've bought other flasks since and I think that if I had put them in a compot they would have fared better. The one left is pretty big now but has not flowered yet.

As long as you get a healthy bag it's a great deal for a first deflasking experience. I've purchased other tissue culture aquarium plants there and have had relatively good success. Just have to be careful because the packages can sit on the shelves for a while and get damaged which inevitably results in contamination etc. At one point I was looking for some specific aquarium plants and asked the staff when they usually got their shipments in and then stalked the store around that time. Lol

Thanks for sharing your experiences with these and I hear you loud and clear on keeping an eye out for freshness—I was able to get to a different location and grab one in near mint condition(even a “species” at that)! I’m definitely planning on keeping tabs on the timing of their availability for no reason other than to get them hot off the press

On a side note, I wonder how many terrarium keepers have had success based solely on the instructions given…