Tissue culture plants are becoming more and more popular in the planted tank hobby. There are a many of reasons to use them for your next project. Read on, we'll give you the run down as to why we think they're awesome!

We usually just carry the 1-2 Grow tissue culture cups from Tropica Aquarium Plants. Why? Well generally plant quality is very good, better than most others. And Tropica Aquarium Plants has a North American facility here in Canada. This makes acquiring premium plants very easy for us, with little risk of overseas shipping. With 50 different species to choose from in the Tropica 1-2 Grow line up, most folks should be able to find what they're looking for. Wheather its mosses, carpeting plants or stems. Of course there are still some species like Anubias, Echndorius, and some Cryptcorne that come better as potted plants due to poor suitability as tissue cultured plants. And don't forget Tropica is a huge nursery, they know things like this. *Disclaimer* We are not affiliated with Tropica Aquarium Plants. Just really love the quality and selection available. But that's a totally different blog!

1. All tissue cultured plants are grown in sterile lab conditions. This makes all 1-2 grow cups pest free. Great if you have phobia of snails. And algae free. Now there are a lot of factors that contribute to algae, but tissue culture plants will come with absolutely no algae. This means no competition for nutrients when your plants are adapting to your aquarium. Just nice clean plants ready to go!

2. Plant mass inside a tissue cultured cup is usually a lot more when compared to the same potted species. 

Out of the 1-2 grow cup!

Same cup divided into portions. Almost every single time when comparing 1-2 Grow cups to potted plants you will receive more in the 1-2 Grow cup. When comparing the same species.

3. Small shipping volume! Shipping is based on weight and volume. We can ship 4-5 TC cups or 1-2 average sized potted plants. And there's no rock wool weighing the box down with useless shipping weight. In winter we use bigger boxes for added protection for all plants. Shipping cost does go up for winter, but you will get way more bang for your buck with 1-2 Grow cups. 

4. Plants in cups ship a better too. The hard plastic cups provide a bit of protection too. Because they are emersed grown out of water, leafs and stems are much tougher.

5. No need to plant right away. 1-2 grow cups can easily sit on your counter for a couple days. Just keep them out of direct sun light and slightly cooler than room temperatures. Of course it's better to plant them sooner than later.

Now some tissue culture cups may not be for everyone. Stem plants and carpeting plants might be hard to get going depending on lighting, substrate, fertilization and experience levels. Heres an old blog post with a few tips on growing plants.

In our opinion the pros out weight the cons, give them a try!