I have purchased some tissue culture plants, but don't have time to plant them in the next few days. The plants are still sealed in their tissue culture container (those ice-cream cup like transparent containers). How to preserve them for a few days?

I'd just keep them like that. They have nutrients and moisture from the gel (assuming they're in gel), and they'll do OK without light for a while. You could maybe put them under lights or in a window but I'm not sure about that, it might be better to just leave them as is.

Yes they are in gel, same as I have bought them. I have not broken the seal/ opened/ taken them out/ cleaned them yet. They are kept as it is just on the table, only getting some indirect sunlight from an half open window.

Should I keep them in a cool dark place or under bright light? The air temperature is between 32 - 36°c here currently, so I'm worried, and was thinking if keeping them in the refrigerator was a good idea?

And, how many days can I expect them to survive like this?

I had some dwarf hair grass for several days just sitting in a dark spot. Some started to yellow but most was still good.


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I have kept tissue culture plants in a window that gets bright morning light and then moderate light for the rest of the day, for a couple weeks at a time. My gut says keeping them in the fridge might be a bad idea, but I could be wrong. I think at least keeping them under some sort of light would be the best plan, especially if it is only for a few days.

Probably will need light. I bought a package of green crypts that were on sale, but tank wasn't ready to plant yet. I figured they would be in the store for 4 or 5 days so what would it matter if I kept them in my house for a few days. I left them in the corner of my bedroom, then after 4 days when I went to plant them, 2/3 of the package was mush. I got 1 decent plant out of it. Very disappointed. It is possible that my storage method had nothing to do with it, and they were mush to start with, but idk for sure.

Depends a lot on how the store was displaying and keeping them, and how you were keeping them if different.

Were they subjected to overnight chills under 65 degrees F? Were they under any light at all? I mean baseline low light levels in a planted tank are probably way more than the LFS's display light levels if they try to keep them with just some ambient shop lighting shining on them. Not all LFS are as conscientious about their plants as they are about their livestock.

Store had them on a rack. They were wrapped in clear plastic with a triangular box around them with a cut out window. Just ambient light. I had them on my corner table, just sitting there, normal ambient light getting to them. Temps should have been comparable in both places, maybe a few degrees cooler in the store, but I doubt it. Anyway, nothing I can do about it now. The one part I was able to salvage looks nice. I really wish I could have gotten a few more from the package. All the red ones from the other package I had did come out real good, but they were purchased after the 1st one.

Thanks a lot guys.

I have planted Marsilea crenata from one of those 2 containers today because it was looking a bit "melted" in the TC container itself since the time I have purchased it (and this was the last one of this specific plant at my LFS, so had no choice), but the Utricularia graminifolia in the other TC container is looking pretty much healthy, so I decided to keep it in its sealed TC culture container just beside my newly set Iwagumi tank, and the tank being small some lights from the LED system is falling directly on that TC container and those plants are basically getting the same amount of light which is successfully growing Monte Carlo inside the tank planted almost at the same level.

I'm waiting for some supply for that scape to arrive for which I bough the Utricularia. I hope they survives a couple of more days.

Put them in the fridge.

That is how the companies who produce it store the tissue cups. It puts the plants in a state of hibernation. will last days to weeks.