[lathyrus_long]

Tissue culture is also used without genetic engineering. Orchid flasking is the classic example, since the seedlings require an external source of energy. A symbiotic fungus provides that in nature, but it's easier to replace that with the usual agar medium.

Many other species can be propagated conventionally, but will grow faster in tissue culture. That's typically referred to as micropropagation, and widely used for aroids (like here), flytraps, cactus, etc. It's also common for aquarium plants, I think because that eliminates the risk of introducing pests.

[steve_adams_86]

Yes, exactly. I use it for aquarium plants. You can start with a $20 culture from the store and turn it into 100 starter plants over a couple months or so. I love densely planted tanks, and the whole process is just fun and fascinating. If you’ve got the gear already, it’s worth playing around and learning something new.

This was what got me started because I was blown away that bucephalandra was $20 for a tiny pot of cultured starts: https://www.plantcelltechnology.com/bloghow-to-grow-bucephal...

You won’t save much if you don’t already have the equipment, though you can do this low-tech for remarkably little investment too.