Acclimating tissue culture plants is a crucial step to ensure that the young plantlets, grown under sterile laboratory conditions, can successfully survive and thrive in a normal environment. Follow the step-by-step plan below to unpack your tissue culture plants and gradually acclimate them to their new environment.

• Wennen aan licht: Your plant has probably spent extended time in the dark during shipping, and therefore needs to readjust to light and the temperature in your house. Place the product packaging with the plant in a relatively light place (but not in full sun), and let it readjust for a few hours. 
  
  
• Workspace: Provide a clean workplace at room temperature and ensure that you do not work in direct sunlight. 
  
  
• Materials: 
        – Pot(s) with substrate: Prepare trays or pots with a light, moisture- and air-permeable substrate. A mixture of 50/50 perlite and aquarium soil (small black balls, available in many garden centers as Flora Base Pro or Fluval Stratum) is our favourite. A combination of perlite and spagnum moss is also popular. There are of course more options, but the ones above are most recommended. If you do not have experience with these substrates yet, we would recommend just using the substrate you feel most competent in. It is advisable to have your substrate already moist (and clean, if necessary).
       
  – Scissors or knife: To open up the packaging, make sure you've cleaned it beforehand

      – Bowl with lukewarm water: for cleaning the plant. Optionally, additional containers for soaking.  

      – Optionally, if you want to be on the safe side: 
              – 70% Alcohol (or higher): For sterilizing your scissors, knife or tweezers 
              – Hydrogen peroxide 3% or fungicide: To kill possible bacteria or fungi.
              – Rooting hormones: Both rooting powder and liquid hormones are suitable, but it's better not to combine them.

• Hygiene: Wash your hands before you start.

• Open the bags with your clean scissors or knife and pour in some clean, lukewarm water. Gently move the bag back and forth a few times, this helps to remove as much gel as possible from the plant.

• Remove the plant from the packaging and place it in your container with lukewarm water. Try to remove all gel from the plant as best you can, you'll mostly find it on the roots. Be careful while doing so, but don't worry too much if you break off leaves or roots,. Anything that breaks off easily probably wouldn't have survived acclimatization anyway. Leave your plant in the water until you are ready to plant it

• Additional extra step: Once you have removed the gel you can soak the plant in a bowl of lukewarm water and a dash of hydrogen peroxide or fungicide, but nothing too strong. Let it soak for a few minutes.

• Additional extra step: Once you have removed the gel (and possibly also performed the above step), you can soak the plant for a few minutes in a container with liquid rooting hormones and lukewarm water. Make the mix half as strong (at most) as the instructions on the package indicate. Try to avoid contact with the skin due to possible health effects that the hormones can cause.

Be aware: Removing the gel is the most important step, it's better to spend too much time on this than too little! A plant with too much gel left will 'suffocate' and will most likely die.

• Plant your plant in the prepared pots or trays. Make sure the roots are well covered and the plant is sturdy.

• Mist or water the plant and substrate lightly to keep the plant moist. It's important that you do not let the plant dry out over the next few weeks, but it's even more important that you do not let the plant stay too wet. 

• Humidity: Place a clear lid or plastic bag over the pots to create a mini greenhouse. This aids in maintaining high humidity, in which your plant can grow well.

• Ventilation: Provide small ventilation holes or open the lid/bag occasionally to allow air circulation and prevent mold formation.

• Light: For a consistent growing environment, we recommend placing your plant under a grow light. If you do not have this, place the plant in a place with sufficient indirect light, but absolutely not in full sun.

• Warmt: Warmt helps your plant make roots. If you have a growth mat or heat mat, your plant will definitely appreciate it!

Now the big wait begins... Because we recommend that you only continue with the next step until your plant has produced at least one new leaf and it has hardened sufficiently.

• Increase the time the lid or plastic bag is open daily. Start with a few minutes and build up slowly over a period of 3-4 weeks (1-2 weeks if your plant is placed in a greenhouse cabinet). Once your plant has become sufficiently accustomed to lower humidity, you can leave the covering off. It's important that the plant and it's substrate remains sufficiently moist, because plants need more moisture in drier air. 
  
  Be aware: When all the leaves become limp, this is a clear sign that the plant needs more humidity, and it is better to slow down the pace of acclimatisation.

• Watering: Continue to water the plants regularly, but make sure your substrate is well-draining to prevent root rot.

• Fertilising: After a few weeks you can start adding a light liquid fertiliser to stimulate growth. Do this at half strength in the beginning, to avoid fertilizer burn.

Continue to monitor your plant closely during the first few months. Watch for signs of stress, disease or pests and adjust care as necessary.