Plant cultivation method

A method for the production of young plants belonging to the group of herbaceous ornamentals, which method comprises an in vitro culture phase during which explants obtained from a parent stock of a species to be propagated, or derivatives of these explants, are subjected to micropropagation which is carried out under suitable conditions and on suitable culture media, in order to produce micro-plantlets which, when subjected to an in vivo culture phase, are intended to develop into plant, characterized in that, to carry out said micropropagation:

• a) explants comprising stems or branches, each comprising meristems, are obtained from parent stock of species to be propagated, or from derivatives of these explants,
• b) the explants are, under axenic conditions and in the dark, placed on a shoot initiation medium which is composed such as to suit each plant species to be propagated, resulting in the induction of a first generation of white filaments which first generation of filaments comprise one or more axillary buds,
• c) each of the white filaments is divided into a plurality of pieces, each of which comprises an axillary bud, but at least one axillary bud, and said filaments and/or pieces obtained from a first generation of white filaments are returned under axenic conditions and in the dark to a proliferation medium for a period of time sufficient to allow the tissue of the plant cuttings to multiply, and to produce a large quantity of etiolated white filaments comprising a high number of axillary nodes, so as to induce the formation of a new generation of white filaments, and the procedure is repeated as often as necessary to produce different consecutive generations of white filaments until the desired amount of white filaments has been obtained,
• d) and said filaments and/or pieces are, in the light, under axenic conditions, placed on or into a rooting medium, which allows each axillary bud to produce a micro-plantlet which has roots.