'Eyelash' Begonias from tissue culture?

Table Top Garden with Begonia 'Tiger Kitten'



Story # 113,

‘Eyelash’ Begonias from tissue culture.

                Begonias  -- ‘Rex’ and ‘Eyelash’ --  can be easily propagated from rooting leaf cuttings.  Crop time is about 3 months to get a clump of plantlets to pot into a 4” pot.  In 8 – 12 weeks you have a nice sized foliage plant for sale.

                Should tissue culture propagation be able to compete with leaf rooting?

                Technically, it’s possible.  The only two questions are:

1.        Can ‘Eyelash’ Begonias be produced by tissue culture for less cost than leaf propagation?

2.       Will the tissue culture plantlets be multi-crowned and husky to compete with good leaf starts?

Nobody knows.