Interesting thread on tissue culture versus field grown itohs. I would say all the itohs from Michigan Bulb and similar operations are tissue culture. It is this technology that has allowed us to have itohs at a reasonable price. The only differences I can find between tissue culture and field grown are: they grow slow; they can potentially have weak root systems; and because of cloning, may not be true to the parent plant. I can vouch for the first difference. The plants I got from MB have taken 3 years to reach a point where they might have blooms this year. But I would expect that from a 1 year old plant. When you get a division that is field grown, it is mature and I would think it would take right off. I will be anxious to see when these plants are large enough to divide, what the root system looks like. It has also been my experience with itohs that all growth comes from the crown or close to the crown of the plant each year. I am not sure I understand the TC plants having eyes concentrated around the crown, all itohs do. The concentration around the crown is what gives the itoh it's concentric mound shape when growing. The plants that I have bought from Monrovia have looked like anything but tissue culture. The root mass on them has been massive and the plants reached full maturity very quickly (50+ blooms/plant). I would hazard a guess that unless you are buying directly from a grower, you are getting a tissue culture plant. I wonder if the tissue culture plant reaches a point (say year 3 or 4) when it is impossible to tell the difference with field grown. I think this is an interesting conversation but there seems to be a built in bias against propagation via tissue culture. It is why the prices have become much more reasonable. I read an article on tissue culture of the tree peony that suggested it was advantageous because it removed the herbaceous rootstock from the equation. More interesting facts. Just my thoughts.
